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.