Comprehensive nutritional analysis and food management for metabolic kitchens in research settings require a different set of functions than those supplied by the general software created for nutritionists. These research nutritionists need to be able to create diets with a specific nutrient composition. The solution of this class of problem requires linear programming techniques that meet nutritional researcher's needs and are not available with existing programs. The objective of Phase II is to develop ProNutra, a research dietitian software tool for metabolic research studies, which was specified in Phase I. ProNutra contains several other innovative features, such as the ability to: automatically modify a study's diet schedule to meet the diet requirements of each of the subjects, create kitchen management reports that specifically handle the needs of a research metabolic kitchen, and store and export study, subject, and diet data to third-party statistical software packages with complete user control over the data selection, format, and order. These innovations will result in new methodologies that will: increase accuracy and efficiency of diet design and preparation, provide standardization in research methods among metabolic wards, facilitate the use of valid nutrition research methodologies, and improve the ability to monitor subject response.
The completed product in Phase III will be marketed to the general nutritionists in the industry but especially those at the clinical Research Centers, the USDA's Human Nutrition Research Centers, military, industry, hospitals, teaching institutions, and private practice. A modified version with multimedia extensions will be created for home recipe management.
