title: Simple versus sophisticated models of breath alcohol exhalation profiles.
abstract: For medicolegal purposes, breath alcohol content is typically determined from an end-expiratory sample. Measurements obtained by this method necessarily underestimate the alveolar breath alcohol content, and therefore underestimate the blood alcohol content. We suggest and analyse an improved paradigm which uses the entire time-series of breath alcohol measurements during exhalation, not simply the last recorded value. We present two mathematical models for the exhaling lung, and discuss the implications of each for more accurate and therefore more reliable breath alcohol measurement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-2420, USA.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lubkin
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Gullberg
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Maini
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate / Q000502:physiology; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000503:physiopathology; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol