Transcript here - Research

Caloric Intake Management
System
Greg Gates
Enayat Qayumi
Project Definition
• The goal of this project is to design, build,
and test a system in which there is interface
between a food weighing scale and a
calculator, and between the calculator and a
computer in order to collect and store
caloric intake data for analysis.
Significance
• Bomb calorimetry
– tedious, time consuming, limits study to area
• Other methods, very inaccurate (20-45%)
• This device
– Portable, keeps long-term data for improved
accuracy, digital scale for improved accuracy,
convenient, user friendly, similar methods
proven to be accurate
Background & Planning
• Last year, students never actually designed anything,
couldn’t connect components, write working program, or
write database
• TI 86 chosen do to user friendliness, & memory (128k, 96k
free)
• LS 2000 scale chosen over last year’s CT 600 do to cost
($85 vs. $356) & increased load capacity (2000g vs. 600g)
• Dr. Buchowski interested in use for developing for
convenient nutritional study data collection methods.
Objectives
• Would prefer for the
• Data must be
calculator to talk to the
transferable to
scale
computer database
• Calculator must be
• Database must read
programmed to store
calculator output and
food type & amount
transfer to working
data
• Calculator must store
multiple entries, and
• Database must store
account for unfinished
long-term data
meals
Overall Design Organization
Step 1: TI 86 Calculator
User follows commands to enter in food data
Calculator asks user to weigh the food
Step 2: LS 2000 Digital Scale
User weighs the food
Step 3: TI 86 Calculator
Attaches weight code to the entered food code
Step 4: TI Graphlink
Exports codes from the calculator to a data file which is imported into the
MS Access Database
Step 5: MS Access Database
Orders food codes into personal ID numbers
Calculates caloric content by total, fat, protein, and carbohydrates for each food eaten
Calculates total values for each subgroup for each individual case
Work Completed
• The experimental food types have been
categorized into a workable list of
approximately 500.
• Programming of the calculator is complete.
• The basic Access database is complete,
minor debugging details are being worked
out & the database is being made more user
friendly
Current Status
• We are testing the calculator program
for efficiency and workability
• We are making adjustments, such as a
tare function, to the program.
• The Access database is being improved
so that uninformed users can
manipulate the data
• We are awaiting word from TI on their
communication port specs
Sample Screen Shot from the
Calculator
Future Plans
• A process for transfer of information from
the calculator to the database will be
devised.
• The scale will be connected to the calculator,
allowing that TI doesn’t claim proprietary
rights to the port specs.
• We will connect the scale to the device &
package the 3 components together.
Future Plans (continued)
• We will continue to test the components on
ourselves to improve the design, then test
the device on a limited number of patients.
• The long term goal is to have this
computerized system replace the manual
system already employed by the
nutritionists.