City Research Online

Abstract

Introduction
Traditional dietary intake assessment is labour- and time-consuming and prone to inaccuracies and biases. Emerging wearable sensing technology may offer a promising solution. This protocol paper describes a study investigating the physiological responses to energy intake utilising a customised wearable multi-sensor band, which is specifically designed to monitor multiple physiological and behavioural responses related to eating and digestion events for dietary monitoring.

Methods and analysis
This study will recruit 10 healthy volunteers from databases and public advertisements, with informed consent required prior to participation. Participants will attend two main study visits at a clinical research facility, consuming pre-defined high- and low-calorie meals in a randomised order. Wearable sensors will be worn throughout the eating episodes to track hand-to-mouth movements and physiological changes, including skin temperature (Tsk), heart rate (HR), and oxygen saturation (SpO2). These sensor readings will be validated against a traditional bedside monitor which additionally measures blood pressure. Blood samples will be collected via intravenous cannula to measure blood glucose, insulin, and hormone levels. Relationship between eating episodes (e.g., occurrence, duration, use of cutlery, high- vs. low-calorie) with hand movement patterns, as well as physiological and blood biochemical responses, will be analysed.

Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval has been granted by London – Westminster Research Ethics Committee. REC reference: 23/PR/1379. Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and seminar presentations. Protocol V.5. Protocol date: 16 January 2024.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Publisher Keywords:	Dietary behaviour, Food intake, Wearable sensors, Physiological biomarkers
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) T Technology > T Technology (General)
Departments:	School of Science & Technology School of Science & Technology > Department of Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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