Biogas Sensor Diet Support System for Personalized Fat Burning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current dieting methods lack personalized approaches to effectively determine suitable meal timing and exercise intensity for individual fat burning, as they rely on subjective hunger and exercise endurance, which can lead to inefficient weight loss.

Innovation Solution

A dieting support system utilizing biogas sensors to measure and analyze components like acetone, allowing for objective determination of hunger levels and optimal exercise timing, intensity, and duration, based on past measurement thresholds, to provide personalized dietary advice.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If blood glucose measurement is used to objectively understand hunger, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to blood collection requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehunger level measurementVSAvoidmeasurement procedure
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses biogas components (acetone, ethanol, methyl mercaptan) as intermediary substances that reflect metabolic state without requiring direct blood sampling. These gases are naturally exhaled and can be measured non-invasively, serving as mediators between the internal metabolic state and external measurement.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical/biological process of blood collection with a gas sensing system. Instead of piercing skin to obtain blood samples, the system uses sensors to detect volatile organic compounds in breath, substituting an invasive mechanical procedure with a non-invasive optical/electrical sensing method.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Ease of operation

If subjective hunger feelings are used to determine meal timing, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to brain confusion and inaccuracy

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemeal timing determinationVSAvoidhunger level assessment
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides continuous feedback through biogas measurement to guide meal timing decisions. By monitoring acetone and other metabolic markers in real-time, the system gives objective feedback about the body's actual metabolic state, allowing users to make informed decisions about when to eat based on physiological data rather than subjective feelings.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Productivity

If exercise intensity is increased to burn more fat, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates when exercise load is too large causing fat burning to stop

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefat burning rateVSAvoidfat burning condition
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses biogas measurement to provide real-time feedback on exercise intensity and fat burning effectiveness. By monitoring changes in acetone concentration during exercise, the system can determine whether the exercise intensity is appropriate for fat burning, allowing users to adjust their workout to maintain optimal fat burning conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies dynamic adjustment of exercise parameters based on real-time biogas measurement. Instead of fixed exercise routines, the system allows users to dynamically adjust intensity and duration based on their body's actual metabolic response, optimizing fat burning while preventing overexertion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

4Measurement precision

If acetone measurement is used to monitor fat burning, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to biogas sensor requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefat burning conditionVSAvoidsensor system
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The biogas sensor system is designed to perform multiple functions: measuring acetone for fat burning monitoring, detecting ethanol for meal timing determination, and identifying methyl mercaptan for various metabolic assessments. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized sensors, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The system enables users to objectively understand hunger and optimize meal timing and exercise for high fat-burning effects, offering custom-made dieting support that reflects individual metabolic conditions.

Implementation Method 1

a biogas sensor to detect components of biogas discharged from a living body, the measurement function configured to measure concentration of the biogas

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectGas detection:

Data Source

PatentEP2657899B1Diet support system and diet support method
Publication Date: 2020.03.04 NTT DOCOMO INC
  • EP2657899B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2657899B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2657899B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A dieting support system includes a function that detects a component of biogas and that measures concentration of the biogas, a function that accumulates and analyzes the measured result, and a function that determines suitable timing for taking a meal or suitable timing for doing exercise, depending on the analyzed result.