Have you measured your taste ?
Taste is surely one of the last senses for which you have never quantified your sensitivity. And yet today it is about to become as easy to perform as a hearing test.
Keep reading
01
What is taste?
First of all, what is taste?
The sense of taste (or gustation ) is one of the five senses , that which makes it possible to perceive the flavors of food or drink in the mouth. It provides information on the food composition.
The five basic flavors are: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami and are perceived by the taste buds of the tongue.
To this taste is added the smell to perceive additional sensations even finer: the aromas. (1)
Taste disorders
The many origins of taste disorders
COVID-19 made us realize that the taste could go away
48%(1)
This is the percentage of people around the world with taste disorders linked to COVID-19. Eight months after their infection, 39% of these patients still complain of not having recovered their taste.(2)
The COVID-19 virus crisis has put an unfortunate spotlight on taste disorders. The decrease or the total taste loss( dysgeusia or ageusia ) are now part of COVID-19 infection diagnostic orientation elements, according to the HCSP (High Council of Public Health), as well as fever, fatigue, migraines, muscle pain.(3)
An objective, precise measurement of taste sensitivity and its monitoring over time is therefore a necessary element in the COVID-19 diagnosis and monitoring.
But COVID-19 is not the only cause of taste loss
Taste sensitivity had until now been neglected, in particular due to a lack of quantitative, reliable and rapid measurement tools.
Many factors (genetic, biological, environmental, nutritional ...) but also many drugs and diseases (infections, trauma, cancer, diabetes ...) are known to degrade taste sensitivity. Consequently, these taste disorders can affect food preferences, appetite, patients' quality of life , but also health by worsening existing pathologies.(4,5)
The elderly are particularly affected because they are often polymedicated and more vulnerable. Yet the impact on taste is rarely assessed in clinical toxicology studies during the early stage of drug development.(6)
1. Saniasiaya J et al. Prevalence and Characteristics of Taste Disorders in Cases of COVID-19: A Meta-analysis of 29,349 Patients. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2021;165:33-42.2. Biadsee A et al. Eight-month follow-up of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in recovered COVID-19 patients. Am J Otolaryngol 2021;42:103065.
3. HCSP. Avis relatif aux signes cliniques d’orientation diagnostique du Covid-19. 20 avril 2020.
4. Risso D, et al. Alteration, Reduction and Taste Loss: Main Causes and Potential Implications on Dietary Habits. Nutrients. 2020 Oct 27;12(11):3284.
5.Thomas DC et al. Dysgeusia: A review in the context of COVID-19. J Am Dent Assoc. 2021 Nov 16:S0002-8177(21)00519-5.
6. Wang T et al. From the Cover: Drug-Induced Taste Disorders in Clinical Practice and Preclinical Safety Evaluation. Toxicol Sci 2017;156:315-24.
02
Hi|Gus : a revolutionary medical device
There is indeed a method of measuring taste: electrogustometry
The electrogustometry principle is relatively simple: use an electric current on the tongue of such a low intensity that it does not cause nerve stimulation but only electrolysis of the saliva, which will cause a variation in ionic concentration, which will be interpreted as a taste.
The goal is to measure the lowest possible electrical intensity which will cause the appearance of the most subtle taste that a person feels, in order to define their threshold of sensitivity. Thus, by regularly following this measurement, a person knows how their taste sensitivity is evolving, depending on an illness, treatment or other environmental factors.
And this is how we came to collaborate with various researchers and health professionals in order to develop the only connected electrogustometer on the market: the Hi|Gus
Device intended for researchers and healthcare professionals
A connected measuring device
A connected measuring device
A measuring device
Robust
When we think of a secure Internet and the data we exchange on it, we imagine the objectives of confidentiality (only those for whom the data is intended can become aware of it), their integrity (no one changed nothing along the way) and their availability (being able to use them when needed). With connected objects, we have to go further: robustness (we want to avoid breakdowns), reliability , resilience (we must be able to restart the network of objects after a problem) and performance. A connected object that is not robust enough, that breaks down, that cannot be restarted, that is slow, is no longer useful as after a cyber attack that would have put it out of service.
Connected
Hi|Gus is controlled by Bluetooth from a mobile application to simplify its use, and for regular updates dedicated to the various regulatory constraints of medical devices, and to always strengthen cybersecurity.
Device intended for researchers and healthcare professionals
Mobile Application
Mobile Application
Mobile Application
iOS & Android
Native iOS and Android mobile applications, intended only for healthcare professionals, allow the medical device to be controlled via Bluetooth as well as to record patients and data on an HIPAA approved host.
Modular
Automated and double-blind measurement protocols allow quantitative, precise and objective measurements to be taken automatically, without manual data processing. Other measurement protocols and algorithms can also be implemented in the application to meet specific needs.
Device intended for researchers and healthcare professionals
Web Application
Web Application
Web Application
Secured
Dispositif médical indépendant // HDS // ISO 27001 Cybersécurité // Réservé au professionnels de santé // Suivi patients personnalisé
Interoperable
FHIR / OMOP // IA & ML //
Device intended for researchers and healthcare professionals
03
Use cases
Many diseases and medical treatments cause taste disturbances
More than 200 drugs and hundreds of diseases or environmental factors cause taste disturbances, which degrade the quality of life.
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