Fully automatic measuring system for assessing masticatory performance using β‐carotene‐containing gummy jelly

Abstract

Despite the importance of masticatory performance in health promotion, assessment of masticatory performance has not been widely conducted to date because the methods are labour intensive. The purpose of this study is to investigate the accuracy of a novel system for automatically measuring masticatory performance that uses β-carotene-containing gummy jelly. To investigate the influence of rinsing time on comminuted jelly pieces expectorated from the oral cavity, divided jelly pieces were treated with two types of dye solution and then rinsed for various durations. Changes in photodiode (light receiver) voltages from light emitted through a solution of dissolved β-carotene from jelly pieces under each condition were compared with those of unstained jelly. To investigate the influence of dissolving time, changes in light receiver voltage resulting from an increase in division number were compared between three dissolving times. For all forms of divided test jelly and rinsing times, no significant differences in light receiver voltage were observed between any of the stain groups and the control group. Voltages decreased in a similar manner for all forms of divided jelly as dissolving time increased. The highest coefficient of determination (R(2) = 0·979) between the obtained voltage and the increased surface area of each divided jelly was seen at the 10 s dissolving time. These results suggested that our fully automatic system can estimate the increased surface area of comminuted gummy jelly as a parameter of masticatory performance with high accuracy after rinsing and dissolving operations of 10 s each.

Validity of a visual scoring method using gummy jelly for evaluating chewing efficiency in a large‐scale epidemiological survey

“…The comminuted pieces of gummy jelly were subjectively measured by using the visual scoring method . A fully automated method was subsequently used on the same sample to measure the concentration of pigments …”

“…This voltage allowed the measurement of the amount of eluted β‐carotene. In addition, by using a regression formula, the amount of increase in the surface area of the chewed bolus (mm 2 ) was calculated from the voltage generated at the photoreceptor . The amount of increase in the surface area of the chewed bolus, as obtained from the calculations, was used as the MP in the fully automated method.…”

“…13 The second method is a fully automated method that measures the amount of eluted β-carotene with an original device. 14,18 In both methods, masticatory performance (MP) was defined as the increased surface of the gummy jelly after comminution, which was calculated from the amount of target components. By contrast, the visual scoring method was developed to assess chewing efficiency in the environment without any devices or equipment.…”

“…The first method is a manual method in which the amount of glucose eluted from the gummy jelly is measured with an instrument that is used for self‐monitoring of blood glucose levels . The second method is a fully automated method that measures the amount of eluted β‐carotene with an original device . In both methods, masticatory performance (MP) was defined as the increased surface of the gummy jelly after comminution, which was calculated from the amount of target components.…”

Masticatory Efficiency before and after Orthognathic Surgery Using Chewing Gum Containing Spherical Resinous Microparticles

“…Indirect testing involves electromyographic evaluation of masticatory muscle 1 11 , chewing cycle kinematics [1][2][3] , measurement of occlusal contact 12 such as the occlusal contact area and number of teeth in contact, and measurement of occlusal force 12 13 . Direct testing involves subjective measurements applying a chewing index 14 and mastication of test foods such as peanuts 15 , rice 16 , gummy jellies [17][18][19][20] , and chewing gum 21 22 .…”