Drug tests for college athletes tracked via handhelds

Drug Free Sport relies on durable Dolphin model

By Matt Hamblen

February 13, 2006 12:00 PM ET

Recommended

Computerworld - When it comes to accurate drug testing of college athletes, the National Center for Drug Free Sport Inc. relies on handheld computers instead of paper forms to track data on 25,000 tests a year.
Use of handhelds at track meets and other National Collegiate Athletic Association events started in 2002, replacing paper forms used to record testing information, said Frank Uryasz, president of Kansas City, Mo.-based Drug Free Sport, in a recent interview.
Last year, Drug Free Sport upgraded to more durable handhelds that it believes won't become obsolete as soon as many consumer-grade handhelds, Uryasz said.
The more durable handheld is the Dolphin 7900, a 17-oz. device from Hand Held Products Inc. in Skaneateles Falls, N.Y., which is equipped to capture an athlete's digital signature and to scan bar codes affixed to test sample containers.

The National Center for Drug Free Sport uses Dolphin 7900 durable handhelds from Hand Held Products Inc. to track drug tests of college athletes.

The Dolphin, which starts at $2,500, is loaded with SCAN II software from Technology Solutions Group Inc. in Lenexa, Kan., an integrator and partner with Hand Held Products. The software is loaded with athletes' names and other data before an event and supplemented with keypad and scanned bar-code input at the sampling site, usually in the stadium. Testing of the samples is handled by independent laboratories, with athletes' names and other information kept separate.
In the future, Uryasz said, Drug Free Sport plans to use the Dolphin's image capture ability to take a photo of the athlete to ensure further legitimacy of the tests.
With paper forms, Drug Free Sport found that "the potential for error was fairly high," Uryasz said, possibly with an error rate of up to 10%. "It was fairly simple with paper to get a signature and then get the wrong date or to transpose a number in handwriting, which can cause a positive drug test to be thrown out," he said.
Handheld collections have "virtually eliminated errors," he said. With about 40 collection crews and 25,000 tests a year, the recording of data and testing are also more efficient, down to about 10 minutes per athlete, he said.
Drug Free Sport upgraded to Dolphins after TSG did an assessment in 2004. It had been using a handheld from Palm Inc. upgraded with a bar code scanner from Symbol Inc. TSG found that the development platform used for the prior application would no longer be available, making upgrades limited, said Michael Koos, president of TSG.
TSG and

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

Mobile/Wireless

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

Do You Know the 7 Steps to Successful Data Migration?

Approximately 60 percent of data migration projects overrun time or budget, while some fail completely. Download this white paper, "Enhancing Your Chance for Successful Data Migration," to learn the critical steps you need to take to execute a data migration project with minimum cost and risk to your business.

WHITE PAPER

Total Cost of Ownership of Server Computing Vs. PCs

Read the Gartner research note to learn why the TCO of a server-based computing deployment used to deliver all applications to users is around 50% lower than that of an unmanaged desktop deployment.

WHITE PAPER

IDC White Paper: Linux in a Global Recession

Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost competitive or that are out of synch with industry trends. This IDC White Paper presents the results of an IDC survey of 330 companies in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas that measures the receptiveness to Linux and takes into consideration changing views driven by the disruptive economic environment that businesses face today.

White Papers & Webcasts

Informatica 9 Launch: Transform your Business. Transform your world.

LIVE Nov 10, 2009 12:00 PM ET

Architecting Business Intelligence Applications for Change: The Open Solution

LIVE Nov 12, 2009 02:00 PM ET

Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
Learn how to successfully deploy a WAN optimization solution that is specifically tuned for a mobile environment!

Managing Laptops Outside the Office
Learn how you can reduce costs by tracking mobile computers no matter where they are located.

WAN Application Delivery for Executives
Learn how to simplify server and application administration without creating performance problems for distributed users.

4G Ahead Video Program
Uncover the features and benefits of the two leading 4G technologies for enterprises considering future deployment.

Applying Remote Support Technology for Maximum Impact
Download Now!

Complimentary Webcast: Taking a Strategic Approach to Enterprise Mobility
Download This Webcast Today!

Measuring the Business Impact of Support
This ServiceXRG White Paper explores the importance of quantifying the impact of support on your business.

Lower the Cost and Complexity of a Mobile Workforce through Automation
Download This Resource Now!

Drive Down Enterprise Mobility Costs
Learn to empower your mobile workforce while simplifying mobility management and controlling costs.

Managing Mobility: Improve Data Security, Compliance and Manageability
Download This Resource Now!

All White Papers | All Webcasts