How Epinal’s Narcolyzer Addresses a Growing Emergent Need For Non-Invasive, Rapid, Handheld Narcotics Testing

Public institutions across the world are reassessing how they identify and respond to narcotic impairment. Courts, transportation agencies, probation departments, and treatment programs are confronting a drug landscape that has evolved through legislation, making it more unpredictable than ever before in history. Polydrug use, increased prescription use, and rapidly changing substance trends create challenges for systems that depend on specific metabolites. Within this environment, Epinal Inc. and its Narcolyzer platform are gaining attention as organizations consider new standards for rapid, non-invasive drug screening.

Narcolyzer is a handheld device designed to detect multiple categories of narcotics through breath analysis. It uses a removable single-use sensor cartridge and a bio-inspired detection method that interacts with molecular signatures associated with targeted substances such as THC, THC-A, Cocaine, and many more. The device interprets these biochemical signals with the assistance of artificial intelligence models, providing a fast screening indication to help institutions make more informed early decisions. Epinal is creating a type of digital fingerprint for the narcotics being tested for. Currently, no system has the capability of doing this. This makes Narcolyzer much more than a drug testing tool.

Institutions Face New Pressures

Government agencies are responding to pressures on several fronts. Transportation departments are managing safety concerns related to commercial driving and ground passenger services. Probation and parole offices are tasked with monitoring compliance among individuals who may have complex medical or behavioral histories. Courts face an increasing number of cases where substance involvement is unclear at the outset. Social service agencies often engage with vulnerable populations who may be affected by multiple substances at once.

Traditional toxicology testing remains the foundation for legal and regulatory determinations, yet it is not built for rapid, on-site screening. There are many reasons the Gold Standard for field alcohol testing is a handheld device to test breath. Epinal has brought that logic forward in the creation of Narcolyzer. The current methods require samples to be collected, preserved, and shipped to certified laboratories, a process that may take days. During that time, agencies must rely on interviews, observation, or partial information. These gaps can slow case progression, delay treatment referrals, and create administrative inefficiencies through the company’s personnel departments.

Narcolyzer is being positioned to introduce early clarity without replacing formal procedures. Institutions can use fast, non-invasive screening to determine whether further testing is needed, whether someone should be referred for medical evaluation, or whether specific safety measures should be taken. The device is intended to support decision-making at the point where information is most limited and consequences are most significant.

Early Evaluations and Pioneering Development

Epinal is preparing field tests with partners in multiple states within the U.S. These efforts involve hospital systems, emergency medical services, and substance use programs, all of which operate within public or quasi-public frameworks. The purpose is to evaluate how multi-drug breath screening performs in environments where speed and accuracy are both essential.

The company has certainly faced its fair share of challenges. Other companies that attempted to solve this need and generate a similar product have either pivoted to other types of breath science/testing or closed their doors for good. Epinal has pulled its science from nature. The same way a well-trained drug dog uses its senses to detect narcotics by smelling a crate or a vehicle, Epinal has pioneered science to turn that natural superpower into a usable life-saving device, by engineering their technology to address the sensitivity needed with the accuracy to reduce the risk of false positives by detecting known particles that cause interference.

By calibrating the interfering agents out of the readings and pairing their unique bioscience to their proprietary sensor technology, Narcolyzer becomes the 1st product of its kind. Epinal did not try to shrink laboratory-grade equipment or re-engineer mass spectrometers; they instead trusted biology and nature to lead the way to their discoveries.

International interest is emerging as well. Agencies in the European Union and other regions have begun exploring how rapid breath-based screening could support transportation security, border management, and public health initiatives. While these discussions remain early, they reflect a broader shift toward modernizing impairment detection frameworks around the world.

Toward More Transparent and Efficient Screening Systems

Epinal’s mission centers on creating safer communities through better information. A handheld, multi-drug breathalyzer does not replace treatment, oversight, or long-term policy reform, but it does offer a tool that can support transparency and reduce uncertainty. For institutions that balance public safety with fairness, rapid screening provides a practical step toward more efficient processes.

The company’s work highlights a growing recognition that impairment cannot be evaluated solely through slow or invasive methods. As agencies and governments explore new approaches, technologies like Narcolyzer may help shape emerging standards that align with real-world conditions.

Epinal is sharing updates on development and funding through a public WeFunder campaign.