Ion channel gating and time interval omission: statistical inference for a two-state Markov model

Statistical inference is considered for a two-state Markov model of a single ion channel, when time interval omission is incorporated. A simple method of obtaining confidence sets for the mean open and closed sojourn times for the underlying single channel, based on the method-of-moments estimators, is presented. Time interval omission induces non-identifiability, in that the method-of-moments usually leads to two distinct estimates of the mean open and closed sojourn times, one corresponding to the true values and the other being an artefact of time interval omission. A new method of overcoming such non-identifiability on the basis of one single channel record is described. The methodology is illustrated by a numerical example.