System for Food and Drink Intake Monitoring

Executive Summary

As chronic health problems related to obesity continue to grow, better monitoring of and treatments for these types of disorders continue to grow as well. This technology is a technique for monitoring food intake in real-time. The inventors propose a wearable solution that involves a stretch sensor mounted at the chest on a belt for the purpose of monitoring the process of swallowing. Data is filtered on-chip, and then downloaded via Bluetooth to a mobile device application.

Description of Technology

The technology consists of a wearable sensor suite that measure pressure at the chest. Signals acquired by the sensors are then processed using a hardware filter. Output to a wireless device is further processed using an algorithm which correlates incoming signals to a template. This pattern recognition strategy provides high levels of accuracy across many different contexts with means to quantify swallowing physiology.

The technology has been demonstrated on subjects performing two behaviors: breathing cycle with inhale and swallow, and breathing cycle with exhale and swallow. The technology is robust in processing a swallowing-related movement of the chest which includes chest movement related to breathing. Pressure-induced measurements are comparable to EMG or kinematic measurements.

Key Benefits

• A cost-effective means to detect and diagnose swallowing and breathing disorders in multiple contexts.
• A wearable monitoring device that is minimally-obtrusive in terms of everyday activities.
• Can be miniaturized and incorporated into clothing (wearable computing applications).
• Monitoring signals are relatively easy to process and interpret using a wireless connection.

Applications

• Can be marketed to a potentially large patient population, easy to manufacture and use (sensors are inexpensive, and application can be run on any mobile device).
• Easy and objective way to monitor dietary intake and associated health issues (incentive for healthy lifestyles).
• Measuring outcomes of food intake (e.g. over-eating, under-eating).

Patent Status:

Patent Pending, US-2015-0080672

Licensing Rights Available

Full licensing rights available

Inventors: Subir Biswas, Bo Dang

Tech ID: TEC2012-0090