Evaluation of a new non-invasive measurement technique based on bioimpedance spectroscopy to estimate blood alcohol content: a pilot study

The gold standard for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC) after alcohol consumption is a blood sample analysis. An innovative technology to estimate BAC is based on impedance cardiography and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS). This study investigated whether it is possible to estimate increasing blood alcohol levels during a drinking trial with bioimpedance measurement techniques. Twenty-one healthy volunteers were assigned to a test (ethanol) group (ETH) or a reference group (H2O). After baseline measurements, the ETH group ingested 120 ml of vodka, followed by a resorption phase of 50 min. Then, bioimpedance and breath alcohol measurements were performed. Thereafter, 60 ml of vodka was ingested and another resorption phase of 50 min was followed by bioimpedance and breath alcohol measurements. This procedure was repeated until alcohol levels exceeded 0.4 mg/l. The H2O group performed in the same way with water. For all measurements, extracellular resistance (R-e) and the base impedance (Z(0)) were computed. Regarding BIS, several parameters differed significantly between the ETH and the H2O group. R-e increased in ETH (p = 0.005), but not in the H2O group when comparing the first and last measurements. Z(0) also increased significantly in the ETH group (p = 0.001). To conclude, with BIS measurements, it is possible to measure increasing blood alcohol levels.