Research

Dietary Assessment with Wearables

Dr McCrory and her collaborators are researching new and improved ways to measure diet objectively, with more accuracy and less burden on research participants than previously possible using state-of-the-art technology. The main focus of these studies is on wearable devices. Dr McCrory currently has 4 funded research projects in this area. Read more about the projects below.

Automatic Ingestion Monitor (AIM)

The AIM was developed by Dr Edward Sazonov, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Dr. Edward Sazonov – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama (ua.edu). The AIM combines an optical sensor to detect chewing with a micro-camera to take pictures of foods and beverages as they are being eaten. The device can be worn on a user’s own eyeglasses or researcher-supplied eyeglasses without corrective lenses. Read more about Dr Sazonov’s lab here (Edward Sazonov, Ph.D. (ua.edu)). The AIM can be used to monitor and measure when, how much, how often food is consumed, calorie and nutrient intake, and track changes in eating patterns over time that occur naturally or as a result of dietary interventions. Dr McCrory, Dr Sazonov, and others are working together on several studies to test the accuracy of the AIM for measuring calorie intake and characterize eating patterns in the US and abroad (currently Ghana and Uganda).

eButton

The eButton was developed by Dr Mingui Sun at the University of Pittsburgh. Mingui Sun, PhD | University of Pittsburgh The eButtton is a wearable camera similar in size to an Oreo cookie. It is pinned into clothes at the upper chest level and takes pictures every 1-5 seconds of food and beverages as they are being consumed. The eButton can be used to monitor and measure when, how much, how often food is consumed, calorie and nutrient intake, and track changes in eating patterns over time that occur naturally or as a result of dietary interventions. Dr McCrory is a co-investigator on a NIH grant working with Dr Sun on the eButton.

Read more about these studies at the following links:

R01 DK100796 Assessing Food Intake with the Automatic Ingestion Monitor, funded by the National Institutes of Health

R01 DK122473 Sensor-based Just-in Time Adaptive Interventions (JITAIs) Targeting Eating Behavior, funded by the National Institutes of Health

Opportunity ID: INV-006713 An Innovative Passive Dietary Monitoring System, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

R01 DK127310-01, A Human Mimetic AI System for Automatic, Passive and Objective Dietary Assessment, funded by the National Institutes of Health

We encourage you to participate in our ongoing study at Boston University using the AIM. Go to www.AIMsensorstudy.com to find out if you are eligible!