Smartphone nutritionist
A mobile application for diabetics has been developed
Copper news based on ScienceDaily: Diabetes app developed for smartphoneSwiss scientists have developed a mobile application for smartphones that automatically calculates the amount of carbohydrates in food and the corresponding amount of insulin.
The program, called GoCARB, will allow diabetics to better control their diet and blood glucose levels.
Approximately 366 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes mellitus. According to experts of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), this figure is expected to increase to 500 million people by 2030. Diabetics need to monitor blood glucose levels with medications and calculate the amount and composition of food taken in such a way that after eating this indicator does not increase dramatically. Carbohydrates in food, for example, such as starch and various sugars, are the most important parameter that increases blood glucose levels after meals.
In a healthy person, there is background insulin secretion and insulin secretion in response to the intake of carbohydrates from food (prandial secretion). In the diabetic's body, the blood glucose level, elevated after taking carbohydrates with food, must be reduced by injecting insulin. The correct amount of prandial insulin is calculated based on the amount of carbohydrates that have entered the body with food, but it is difficult to make accurate calculations even for a diabetic with experience.
Now researchers from the University of Bern have created a mobile application GoCARB, which determines the amount of carbohydrates in a dish and the appropriate dose of insulin. This system recognizes food on a plate thanks to photos taken on a smartphone, and estimates the amount of carbohydrates in them. Also, the application program automatically calculates the dose of prandial insulin.
The user places a reference object next to the food and takes two photos on the smartphone camera, while food products (meat, vegetables, noodles) are recognized and their shape is recreated in 3D format.
Then, based on the 3D model and the recognition of the type of products in the dish, the volume of food is calculated. Information about the nature and volume of food, as well as the presence in the program of a database with calorie values of food products allow you to estimate the carbohydrate content in the food consumed and the optimal amount of insulin. This system, developed for Android phones, will be tested this summer.
The GoCARB app is in use. A screenshot of the application interface is shown on the right, representing the calculated volumes and carbohydrates in grams, along with a product recognition map. Photo courtesy of the University of Bern.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru06.06.2014