Optalert

Optalert is a Melbourne-based medical technology company that pioneered the use of blepharometry — measurement of eyelid blink velocity — to objectively detect and measure drowsiness in real time. Founded by sleep medicine clinician Dr. Murray Johns, the company developed the Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS), the only scientifically validated objective measurement of drowsiness, validated by over 130 peer-reviewed publications and deemed commensurate with gold standard laboratory measures by Harvard Medical School.

In mining, Optalert is the established wearable drowsiness detection device commercially validated at scale by Vale (one of the world's largest mining companies), BHP, and Shougang Hierro Peru. The company reports 15+ consecutive years with no major accident at any mine site where its technology is operational, a 95% reduction in drowsiness-related risk, and a 5% increase in production at a large Brazilian iron ore mine after implementation. The technology measures eyelid movement velocity 500 times per second using infrared LEDs embedded in specialised glasses.