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Lindsay Lohan's SCRAM Bracelet: How Does It Work?

Lohan's alcohol-monitoring bracelet collects data regarding the wearer's alcohol consumption by measuring perspiration.

[article id="1639867"]Lindsay Lohan appeared in court[/article] Monday (May 24) seeking to ease restrictions on the terms of her probation stemming from two drug- and alcohol-related arrests in 2007. To Lohan's disappointment, Judge Marsha Revel ordered the 24-year-old actress to wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet that will require her to undergo mandatory drug testing in Los Angeles on a weekly basis. Lohan must attach the bracelet to her ankle within the next 24 hours.

The device is called a SCRAM bracelet, and it's hardly an unfamiliar fashion accessory for Lohan, who volunteered to wear the bracelet as part of an outpatient care program following her DUI arrest in 2007. The SCRAM bracelet, short for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, is a lightweight ankle bracelet designed to keep track of the wearer's alcohol consumption through measuring his or her perspiration. After data regarding the wearer's blood alcohol content is collected, the bracelet sends the information to the manufacturer, Alcohol Monitoring Systems.

The SCRAM bracelet is virtually tamper-proof, thanks to "an internal mechanism that if you do tamper with it, it'll notify the remote location immediately," attorney Mark Geragos told MTV News. As a result, SCRAM wearers are cautioned not to submerge the device in water, as the bracelet would no longer be able to record perspiration, which would be flagged by remote monitors as "an attempt to defeat" the bracelet. Said Geragos: "You've got to take some precautions when you shower."

Another inconvenience presented by the SCRAM bracelet involves air travel, as the official website for Alcohol Monitoring Systems notes that the device's presence would likely require special attention and swab testing from airport security officials. Given Lohan's weekly Los Angeles testing, however, air travel isn't likely to propose too much of an inconvenience if she wishes to remain free on bail.

Additionally, SCRAM wearers are instructed against ingesting alcohol of any kind -- that means not just beverages, but also mouthwash, colognes and perfumes, certain types of lotion and other similar products containing alcohol.

Of course, there's the visually distracting nature of the device to consider as well. "Depending on whether or not you think it's a fashion statement, you'll generally wear pants while wearing [the bracelet]," Geragos told MTV News.

With summer rapidly approaching, Lohan, a California resident, faces a physically uncomfortable time to wear pants on a daily basis. Lohan has 24 hours to start using the SCRAM bracelet. She'll have to actually wear the device for significantly longer than that, however, as her next probation hearing is scheduled for July 6.

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