Metabolic Intelligence Lab, Department of Neuroscience, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito, 1, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A. Gemelli" IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Biosensors (Basel). 2023 Jul 20;13(7):749. doi: 10.3390/bios13070749.
Chewing is essential in regulating metabolism and initiating digestion. Various methods have been used to examine chewing, including analyzing chewing sounds and using piezoelectric sensors to detect muscle contractions. However, these methods struggle to distinguish chewing from other movements. Electromyography (EMG) has proven to be an accurate solution, although it requires sensors attached to the skin. Existing EMG devices focus on detecting the act of chewing or classifying foods and do not provide self-awareness of chewing habits. We developed a non-invasive device that evaluates a personalized chewing style by analyzing various aspects, like chewing time, cycle time, work rate, number of chews and work. It was tested in a case study comparing the chewing pattern of smokers and non-smokers, as smoking can alter chewing habits. Previous studies have shown that smokers exhibit reduced chewing speed, but other aspects of chewing were overlooked. The goal of this study is to present the device and provide additional insights into the effects of smoking on chewing patterns by considering multiple chewing features. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences, as non-smokers had more chews and higher work values, indicating more efficient chewing. The device provides valuable insights into personalized chewing profiles and could modify unhealthy chewing habits.
咀嚼对于调节新陈代谢和启动消化过程至关重要。人们已经尝试了各种方法来研究咀嚼，包括分析咀嚼声音和使用压电传感器来检测肌肉收缩。然而，这些方法很难区分咀嚼和其他运动。肌电图（EMG）已被证明是一种准确的方法，尽管它需要将传感器附着在皮肤上。现有的 EMG 设备主要用于检测咀嚼行为或对食物进行分类，而无法提供对咀嚼习惯的自我意识。我们开发了一种非侵入性设备，通过分析咀嚼时间、周期时间、工作率、咀嚼次数和工作量等多个方面来评估个性化的咀嚼方式。该设备在一项比较吸烟者和非吸烟者咀嚼模式的案例研究中进行了测试，因为吸烟会改变咀嚼习惯。先前的研究表明，吸烟者的咀嚼速度会降低，但咀嚼的其他方面则被忽视了。本研究的目的是介绍该设备，并通过考虑多个咀嚼特征，提供更多关于吸烟对咀嚼模式影响的见解。统计分析显示存在显著差异，因为非吸烟者的咀嚼次数更多，工作量更高，表明咀嚼效率更高。该设备提供了有价值的个性化咀嚼分析，并可以纠正不健康的咀嚼习惯。
