# Technology transfer of behavioral economic tasks for assessing alcohol reinforcer pathology: Development and feasibility of a commercially-available tool for clinical practice

> **NIH NIH R42** · BEAM DIAGNOSTICS, INC. · 2022 · $853,388

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) contributes to excessive disability, morbidity, and mortality in the United States. As
one of the nation’s leading causes of death, public health guidelines recommend consistent standardized alcohol
screening. However, screening for alcohol misuse is underperformed, laborious, and is susceptible to demand
characteristics and concerns about stigmatizing the patient. To combat these issues, BEAM Diagnostics, Inc.
developed Beacon, a commercializable alcohol misuse digital screening tool based on the theoretical framework
of reinforcer pathology dedicated to increasing standardized screening without stigmatizing the patient. In Phase
I of this project, we conducted a clinical study at a large multi-site healthcare system serving approximately 1M
patients per year and validated Beacon as demonstrating robust predictive accuracy of alcohol misuse and
positive reports of feasibility and acceptability from providers. The goal of this Phase II SBIR is to finalize
Beacon’s development into a fully realized commercial product, both as a stand-alone tool and as an integrated
tool within an electronic medical record (EMR) system. Aim 1 will iterate and optimize the user-experience and
accessibility of Beacon as a product, develop nationally representative norming, produce comprehensive clinical
reference materials, ensure offline capability, and Spanish-language translation. Aim 2 will be dedicated to
integrating Beacon into EPIC, a widely used electronic medical record system within a healthsystem partner, to
improve usability, workflow capabilities, and record-keeping of alcohol misuse directly into a patient’s medical
chart. In addition, Aim 2 will launch a wave-style education and implementation initiative to promote Beacon’s
use in three outpatient departments. Finally, BEAM will complete an Exploratory Aim seeking to validate Beacon
as a measurement-based care tool. At the conclusion of this Phase II project, BEAM will brought Beacon to
market as a digital screening app for AUD, both as a stand-alone product and an EMR-integrated version.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10490351
- **Project number:** 5R42AA026794-03
- **Recipient organization:** BEAM DIAGNOSTICS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Emily Snider
- **Activity code:** R42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $853,388
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-20 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10490351

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10490351, Technology transfer of behavioral economic tasks for assessing alcohol reinforcer pathology: Development and feasibility of a commercially-available tool for clinical practice (5R42AA026794-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10490351. Licensed CC0.

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