Researchers at General Electric Co. have created a prototype device capable of measuring the amount of calories in food.
By using data from fat, water, and weight, the device can estimate the amount of calories in a meal, according to The Verge. GE Research is looking to have the technology be used eventually in microwaves and other appliances.
However, the prototype currently only works with food that is blended. Low-energy microwaves are passed through meals to measure them, and the food has to constantly be uniform in order for the device to get an accurate reading.
The idea for the instant calorie counter was created by GE Research senior scientist Matt Webster, who came up with the idea while thinking of a present to give to his wife for her birthday, CNET reported. She asked for something that could track the calories in the food she ate.
GE Research developed the device in its laboratory in Niskayuna, New York, designing it to determine the calorie content of food so that it doesn't have to separately analyze the food's ingredients and components, The Daily Mail reported. While the microwaves are not able to cook the food, they can find certain data from the food based on how they travel through it while coming into contact with fat and water molecules.
"You can do this because water and fat interact with microwaves very differently," Webster said.
The calories in the meal can be estimated with an equation developed by Webster's team over three years, which he says "takes the fat, water content numbers and assumes values for the rest." He added that the device doesn't need to know the combination of proteins, sugars and carbohydrates, which are handled by the equation.
The machine was tested between 40 and 50 times, and was able to accurately count the number of calories in food, with a variation of only 5 to 10 percent, CNET reported.
Researchers are now looking to improve the prototype so that it becomes an instant calorie counter consumers can use in their own homes, The Daily Mail reported. The date of availability and cost of the device has yet to be revealed.
