Nutritional Ingredient Determination Using Muscle and Fat Indices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems for determining nutritional supplements are inadequate as they provide similar supplements to users with different health conditions based on subjective symptoms, failing to accurately account for individual health conditions.

Innovation Solution

An apparatus that determines nutritional ingredients using a muscle index and a fat index to provide personalized supplements tailored to a user's specific health condition, incorporating a body composition measuring device and a generating apparatus that blends supplements based on these indices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If nutritional ingredients are determined based on subjective symptoms or user purpose, then the system is simple to operate and provides quick results, but the accuracy of nutritional determination deteriorates because users with different health conditions receive similar supplements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of operationVSAvoidaccuracy of nutritional determination

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameters used for determining nutritional ingredients from subjective symptoms to objective body composition parameters (muscle index and fat index). This allows the system to maintain ease of operation while significantly improving the accuracy of nutritional determination by using measurable physiological parameters that directly reflect health conditions

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the subjective assessment mechanism with an objective measurement mechanism using body composition analysis. By substituting the mechanical/subjective evaluation process with scientific measurement of muscle and fat indices, the system achieves both operational simplicity and measurement precision

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Device complexity

If similar supplements are provided to users with similar subjective ideas or feelings, then the system can be implemented with simple algorithms and data processing, but the reliability of the nutritional recommendation deteriorates because it does not account for actual health conditions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidreliability of nutritional recommendation

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the input parameters from subjective user perceptions to objective body composition measurements (muscle index and fat index). This parameter transformation maintains relatively simple system architecture while dramatically improving reliability by basing recommendations on actual physiological states rather than subjective feelings

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces body composition measurement as an intermediary between the user and the supplement recommendation system. This intermediary provides objective data that mediates the decision-making process, ensuring reliable recommendations while keeping the overall system structure manageable through standardized measurement and processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11862321B2Ingredient determining device, ingredient determining method and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium

Publication Date: 2024.01.02 TANITA CORP

AI summary

An ingredient determining apparatus configured to determine nutritional ingredients in food provided for a user. The ingredient determining apparatus includes a processor configured to obtain a muscle index indicating a degree of muscle mass of the user and a fat index indicating a degree of fat mass of the user, and determine the nutritional ingredients based on the muscle index and the fat index.