Many medical areas to explore
Through our various researches and supported by the existing scientific literature, we have identified many cases of medical use on different diseases where the taste measurement could be a tool for prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of patients.
In Europe, in mild to moderate forms of Covid-19 infection, a multicenter study identified 54% of patients with taste disturbances. (1)
The taste measurement in Covid patients would therefore allow:
○ Early identification of the first clinical signs of infection and referral for diagnosis
○ Accuracy of a taste disorder and referral to additional and more expensive tests to validate a COVID-19 diagnosis
○ Helps in the gradation of disease severity upon diagnosis.
20% of Covid-19 patients are affected by long COVID (a form of Covid with prolonged, fluctuating and multisystem symptoms). Among these patients, 30% present a taste loss. (2)
The taste measurement for long Covid patients would allow:
○ Patient follow-up
○ Monitoring the disease severity
○ Monitoring of disease progression and sensory symptoms according to taste and olfactory rehabilitation protocols.
70% of insulin-dependent diabetics suffer from an altered taste, a sign of peripheral neuropathy. The onset of diabetic neuropathy is difficult to observe, yet it is very important to diagnose it to avoid complications such as diabetic foot. (1,2)
Measuring the taste of patients with diabetes seems to be one of the most useful specific symptoms to track. (3)
It could be a secondary diagnostic tool for the onset of neuropathy and the onset of diabetic foot, via facial nerve involvement, to aid in an earlier diagnosis.(4)
Around the world, a patient has a lower limb amputated due to diabetes every 30 seconds! (2)
The challenge for the diabetic foot is to limit the delay in management and the aggravation. (5)
It is therefore crucial that any practitioner is able to prevent and detect this complication early and manage it very precisely. (6)
Measuring patients' taste, as part of their regular monitoring, could be a tool for grading the severity stage of neuropathy and diabetic foot.
1. Gautier JF et al. Recommandations de l’ALFEDIAM : Neuropathie diabétique périphérique. Diabetes & Metabolism. 1997;23:335-42.A smoker has 6 times less taste sensitivity than a non-smoker. (1)
The taste measurement between smokers and non-smokers is an interesting and practical tool for awareness and prevention: by demonstrating that tobacco consumption alters essential daily functions. This measure could help encourage young people not to smoke.(1,2)
The patient who quits smoking may regain a better taste sensitivity after 2 weeks of quitting smoking. (2)
Our measuring device could therefore be
○ An objective tool for monitoring improvement in the event of a shutdown
○ An incentive tool and motivational support for smoking cessation.
○ With an effectiveness equivalent to the reimbursed nicotine patches (according to a comparison of the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods).
The majority of people with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease present with impaired general sensory acuity, a taste sensitivity due to nerve damage & damage to the nervous system. ( 1,2)
Taste loss is believed to occur in the very early stages of the disease, and could be identified at the early stage of the disease. (3,4,5)
Taste measurement could therefore be an interesting tool to aid in early diagnosis.
The more advanced the disease, the greater the impairment of taste perception. (4)
Taste sensitivity could be an interesting criterion for qualifying the stage of progression and for monitoring Alzheimer's disease.
The taste measurement could therefore be a tool to help measure the stage of the pathology to correlate with the evaluation of other biomarkers to better adjust treatments to the evolution of the pathology.
This impairment of taste can have repercussions in the daily life and loss of autonomy of patients: undernutrition, vulnerability to substances harmful to health ... (1)
Knowing the taste sensitivity of these patients would allow them to better adapt their daily environment and their diet.
Cancer patients treated with chemotherapy often report changes in taste sensitivity associated with the development of neuropathies. (1,2)
Iatrogenic neuropathy detection leads to a modification of the therapeutic strategies which can have serious consequences. And these breaches are difficult to quantify. (3)
Better detection of these neuropathies by measuring taste could increase maximum compliance chances with chemotherapy, and thus improve the probability of response to oncological treatments and the quality of life of patients.
With a better understanding of the taste disorders of patients treated for cancer, supportive care could be adapted in a more personalized way to improve their quality of life.
1. AFSOS. Référentiels inter régionaux en Soins Ontologiques de Support. Neuropathie périphérique et cancer. 2012.taste sensitivity may be an interesting constant to measure in many other therapeutic areas.
We are working with many experts to go further in the knowledge on the taste and the interest of its measurement in geriatrics (to diagnose certain diseases early, or to adapt the diet of the elderly), in behavioral disorders food (to understand the influence of taste loss on behavior), or even in HIV (as a tool for monitoring CD4 counts in parallel).
If you are interested in measuring the taste, do not hesitate to contact us to test our device!
And many other reset use cases to explore, but now you're probably wondering ...
