Introduction

The ability to easily monitor one’s breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) may be useful in situations where driving a vehicle with a BrAC above a certain limit constitutes a violation of the law. In the United States, a per se limit exists, where driving a vehicle with a BrAC above 0.080 g/210L constitutes a violation of the law. Other potential applications for monitoring BrAC may include drinking establishments, health care, family law, remote monitoring, personal use, research, and workplace testing.
The present study aimed to assess BACtrack®’s line of smartphone-connected handheld breath alcohol analyzers in vitro against known reference standards. Analyzers were evaluated for accuracy, precision, and specificity. The measurement uncertainty was evaluated at the 0.080 g/210L concentration.
The integration of wireless smartphone connectivity with BACtrack®’s line of breath alcohol analyzers (BACtrack® Breathalyzers, San Francisco CA, USA) adds an interesting element to the usefulness and social aspect to the instruments. When connected to an app on a smartphone, users can share and record measurements via the app.
Recent examinations of personal breath alcohol analyzers have looked at the analytical performance of the instruments in vivo, showing mixed results (Ashdown, Fleming, Spencer, Thompson, & Stevens, 2014; Delgado et al., 2017; Riordan et al., 2017). The present study aimed to assess BACtrack®’s line of smartphone-connected handheld breath alcohol analyzers in vitro against known reference standards. Analyzers were evaluated for accuracy, precision, and specificity. The measurement uncertainty was estimated at the 0.080 g/210L concentration for the 95% coverage interval.