Our team member Henrik Podéus Derelöv, together with his colleagues at Linköping University and the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine has developed a digital twin model designed to improve the forensic reconstruction of alcohol consumption. By integrating individual physiological characteristics—such as sex, age, height, weight, and medical conditions—with data from breath, blood, and urine samples, the model enables more precise estimations of when and how much alcohol a person consumed. This approach paves the way for more reliable investigations into crimes where alcohol is believed to have been involved, and it addresses limitations in current forensic methods, particularly in cases involving the “hip flask defence,” where individuals claim alcohol was consumed only after the incident. The model also incorporates factors influencing alcohol absorption and metabolism, including gastric emptying, food intake and the type of alcoholic beverage consumed. Although the framework does not eliminate uncertainty, it offers a more flexible and reliable tool to support forensic investigations involving alcohol-related crimes and accidents.
