The primary purpose of this project is to develop and test the feasibility of a web-based program to provide food portion tutorials on demand or via an interactive training module. Food portion estimation is a considerable source of error in a dietary assessments and food portion tutorials have been shown to improve the accuracy of these estimation. Unfortunately, the current state of these tutorials have been shown to improve the accuracy of these estimations. Unfortunately, the current state of these tutorials is remarkably """"""""low-tech"""""""", consisting primarily of pictures or plastic models of foods in various portion sizes, causing these tutorials to be labor intensive and poorly disseminated. This Phase I project will develop a web-based, advanced video-streaming, interactive, and automated food portion tutorial (CFPT) that can be easily utilized by dietary researchers, nutritionists, or general consumers. Usability evaluations with nutritionists/researchers and with potential end users will be conducted during the development process. Feasibility of the product will be evaluated by comparing CFPT-trained vs. untrained subjects on food portion estimation following a typical meal, and subsequently exposing the untrained cohorts to the CFPT on-demand features to determine if their food portion estimation improves following exposure.

Proposed Commercial Applications

The potential market for the proposed product includes all individuals who monitor their diet and food portion size for any reason including weight management and dietary management of various medical conditions. Although general consumers should find the CFPT useful, the program is designed primary for he needs of dietary researchers and clinical nutritionists for whom food portion tutorials are an important component of any dietary assessment that does not involve weighing of food portions. Marketing which targets whose professions as well as licensing agreements with the array of commercial dietary management programs and user fees for advanced features are sufficient to make this project commercially viable.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase I (R43)
Project #
1R43DK061079-01
Application #
6443652
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-D (10))
Program Officer
Podskalny, Judith M,
Project Start
2002-04-15
Project End
2002-09-30
Budget Start
2002-04-15
Budget End
2002-09-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2002
Total Cost
$142,198
Indirect Cost
Name
Personal Improvement Computer Systems
Department
Type
DUNS #
861143386
City
Reston
State
VA
Country
United States
Zip Code
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