Patent Publication Number: US-11049591-B2

Title: System for monitoring and alerting users of DHA levels

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), is an omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) that is not only a structural building block of cell membranes in the retina and brain, but also an essential nutrient for humans (Swanson, 2012). 
     It has been demonstrated in a large number of studies that a sufficient amount of DHA intake during pregnancy and lactation might not only help support brain and visual development of infants and toddlers, but also modulate immunity and improve sleeping (See for example, Mendez, 2009; Helland, 2003; Malcolm, 2003; Judge, 2007; Krauss-Etschmann, 2008; Cheruku, 2002; Furuhjelm C, 2009). Sufficient amount of DHA supplement is also beneficial to pregnant and lactating women. Some studies reported that DHA supplement during pregnancy may improve depressive symptoms of pregnant women and reduce the incidence of postpartum depression (Su, 2008; Freeman, 2006a; Avni-Barron, 2003). Additionally, Kulkarni et al. found that DHA supplements during pregnancy may reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia for pregnant women (Kulkarni, 2011). Freeman et al. demonstrated that the HAM-D score and EPDS score of patients with postpartum depression decreased 48.8% and 51.5% respectively after 8 weeks of DHA intervention (Freeman, 2006b). 
     On the other hand, it was also demonstrated in some studies that insufficient DHA intake during pregnancy or during a lactating period may not only have an impact on the health of pregnant women, but also on the development of infants and toddlers. Women&#39;s lack of DHA during pregnancy and lactating periods may also increase the risk of postpartum depression (Hibbeln, 2002). A survey with 8,998 Denmark pregnant women found that insufficient intake of fish during pregnancy (16-30 weeks) may increase the risk of premature and low-birth weight infants, and the incidence of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was up to 6.6% (Olsen, 2002). Some studies demonstrated that pregnant and lactating women deficient of DHA may have direct impact on the intelligence of their offspring and may be associated with some diseases (Hibbeln, 2007; Lapillonne, 2010; McNamara, 2006). 
     Unfortunately, there are not many sources of DHA in foods that are available to pregnant and lactating women. Although humans may transform food and precursor fatty acid-α-linolenic acid (ALA) into DHA, the rate is very low (see for example, Swanson, 2012; Neff, 2011; Plourde, 2007; Harris, 2008). Therefore, a human needs to intake DHA from food. However, there are not many foods that contain DHA resulting in DHA deficiencies in humans. The main sources of food that contain DHA are algae and sea fish (Swanson, 2012). 
     Maternal DHA is the only source of DHA for a fetus, especially during the third trimester. The fetus, however, needs to acquire 67 mg DHA daily from their mother to fulfill their fast development requirements (Morse, 2012). Because women lose about 70-80 mg of DHA daily during the lactating period, a study has indicated that a maternal serum DHA level decreased 30% from 5 days to 6 weeks postpartum (Makrides, 2000). Therefore, additional DHA should be supplemented in pregnancy and lactation to fulfill the development of fetus, infants and toddlers. 
     In order to monitor the benefits of DHA and design dietary recommendations, it is important to evaluate DHA reference intake in the population. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a simple and feasible method. However, current FFQ has many items (Meng, 2008; Zhang, 2009), which are not focusing on DHA. 
     A study showed that about 90% of DHA intake for Chinese pregnant women originated from fish (Meng, 2008). Many studies have demonstrated that the dietary DHA intake of pregnant and lactating women may not only reflect DHA condition in the blood or breast milk, but also even DHA condition in the body of fetus, infants and toddlers (Meng, 2008; Zhang, 2009, Huang, 2013). Wakai et al. reported that the correlation coefficient between the amount of dietary fish and level of blood DHA is significant (Wakai, 2005). 
     The available clinical data on correlations between DHA intake and plasma/breast milk DHA level in pregnant and lactating women are summarized below: 
     Docosahexaenoic acid in maternal and neonatal plasma phospholipids and milk lipids (Huang, 2013) reported that the seafood intake of the mothers was positively and significantly related to the proportion DHA in breast milk (r=0.35, p&lt;0.05). In this study, statistically significant and positive relationships were found for the proportions of DHA between breast milk and maternal plasma phospholipids. It is noteworthy that the observation that the fatty acid status of the infants with regard to DHA appeared to depend on the respective nutritional status of the mother (r=0.46, p&lt;0.01) 
     Fish intake and serum fatty acid profiles from freshwater fish (Philibert, 2006) reported that fatty fish intake, particularly salmonid, and estimated EPA+DHA intake from fatty fish were significantly associated with serum EPA+DHA (R2=0.41 and 0.40, respectively). 
     Fish intake and estimated EPA, DPA and DHA in Japanese (Wakai, 2005) reported that the correlation between the amount of dietary fish and level of blood DHA is significant. 
     In summary, studies show that DHA is needed during pregnancy and periods of lactation. Although humans may transfer food and precursor fatty acid-α-linolenic acid (ALA) into DHA, the rate is very low, and varies from 0.013% to &lt;0.01% (Swanson, 2012; Neff, 2011; Plourde, 2007; Harris, 2008). Therefore, humans need to intake DHA from food. But, there are not any systems that are known which receive information indicative of women&#39;s local diets, analyzes the information, and provides reports and recommendations to women and the healthcare providers to assist in maintaining proper DHA levels based upon their local diets. It is to such an improved system that the presently disclosed inventive concepts are directed. 
     SUMMARY 
     A method and system for monitoring and alerting users of DHA levels are disclosed. The problem of insufficient information with respect to maintaining proper DHA levels is addressed with computer systems configured to provide a tailored DHA intake Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) based on regional foods in order to provide a simple and feasible evaluation method for DHA nutrition intervention. In the examples described herein, the FFQ is based upon regional diets in China. However, it should be understood that the FFQ could be based upon other regional diets. In some embodiments, the computer systems provide a short food self-evaluation scale based on validated FFQ and a Chinese food component list, which aims to identify the relationship between fish, algae and DHA level in blood and breast milk through DHA tests, thus validating the effect of a tailored FFQ on DHA intake and providing a simple and feasible tool to evaluate DHA intake. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To assist those of ordinary skill in the relevant art in making and using the subject matter hereof, reference is made to the appended drawings, which are not intended to be drawn to scale, and in which like reference numerals are intended to refer to similar elements for consistency. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic view of hardware forming an exemplary embodiment of a system for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary user device for use in the system for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary embodiment of a host system for use in the system for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is an illustration of an exemplary login and start screen in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is an illustration of an exemplary user information input screen in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is an illustration of an exemplary food item selection screen in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is an illustration of an exemplary frequency and portion size selection screen in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  is an illustration of an exemplary output screen in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is an illustration of an exemplary user information form for separating and/or obtaining user information by a user database of the host system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  is an illustration of an exemplary food item form for separating and/or obtaining food items by a food item database of the host system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is an illustration of an exemplary participant&#39;s information form for separating and/or obtaining participant&#39;s information by a user database of the host system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The methods and system proposed in this disclosure circumvent the problems described above. The present disclosure describes a system for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake. 
     Before explaining at least one embodiment of the disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction, experiments, exemplary data, and/or the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings unless otherwise noted. 
     The systems and methods as described in the present disclosure are capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for purposes of description, and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements. 
     As used in the description herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, unless otherwise noted, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements, but may also include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. 
     Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive and not to an exclusive “or”. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present). 
     In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive concept. This description should be read to include one or more, and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise. Further, use of the term “plurality” is meant to convey “more than one” unless expressly stated to the contrary. 
     As used herein, any reference to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one example,” “for example,” or “an example” means that a particular element, feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearance of the phrase “in some embodiments” or “one example” in various places in the specification is not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, for example. 
     Circuitry, as used herein, may be analog and/or digital components, or one or more suitably programmed processors (e.g., microprocessors) and associated hardware and software, or hardwired logic. Also, “components” may perform one or more functions. The term “component” may include hardware, such as a processor (e.g., microprocessor), a combination of hardware and software, and/or the like. Software may include one or more computer executable instructions that when executed by one or more components cause the component to perform a specified function. It should be understood that the algorithms described herein may be stored on one or more non-transient memory. Exemplary non-transient memory may include random access memory, read only memory, flash memory, and/or the like. Such non-transient memory may be electrically based, optically based, and/or the like. 
     In one example, a system and method is disclosed that establishes communication between a host system and a user device. The host system automatically registers individualized diet data received from the user device. The individualized diet data has parameters indicative of type and quantity of foods or supplements consumed by a user during a defined time period. The parameters are analyzed with a predetermined rule set indicative of concentrations of DHA in select foods and supplements to determine a level of the user&#39;s DHA dietary intake relative to a recommended intake. An alert is generated by the host system and transmitted via at least one predetermined communication method and without user intervention, responsive to the user&#39;s dietary intake relative to the recommended intake being a predetermined relation to a baseline. In this manner, the users are able to determine and monitor their DHA consumption and be automatically informed of recommendations to either increase or decrease the user&#39;s DHA consumption. 
     Referring now to the Figures, and in particular to  FIG. 1 , shown therein is a diagrammatic view of hardware forming an exemplary embodiment of a system  10  for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. The system  10  is provided with at least one host system  12 , at least one user device  14 , and a network  16 . In some embodiments, the system  10  may include at least one external system  17  for use by doctors and/or other types of healthcare professionals (e.g., dietitians) to provide input with respect to evaluating and/or making recommendations with respect to a user&#39;s DHA intake. The system  10  may be a system or systems that are able to embody and/or execute the logic of the processes described herein. Logic embodied in the form of software instructions and/or firmware may be executed on any appropriate hardware. For example, logic embodied in the form of software instructions and/or firmware may be executed on dedicated system or systems, on a personal computer system, on a distributed processing computer system, and/or the like. In some embodiments, logic may be implemented in a stand-alone environment operating on a single computer system and/or logic may be implemented in a networked environment such as a distributed system using multiple computers and/or processors as depicted in  FIG. 1 , for example. 
     The host system  12  of the system  10  may include a single processor or multiple processors working together or independently to perform a task. In some embodiments, the host system  12  may be partially or completely network-based or cloud based. The host system  12  may or may not be located in single physical location. Additionally, multiple host systems  12  may or may not necessarily be located in a single physical location. 
     In some embodiments, the system  10  may be distributed, and include at least one host system  12  communicating with one or more user device  14  via the network  16 . As used herein, the terms “network-based,” “cloud-based,” and any variations thereof, are intended to include the provision of configurable computational resources on demand via interfacing with a computer and/or computer network, with software and/or data at least partially located on a computer and/or computer network. 
     In some embodiments, the network  16  may be the Internet and/or other network. For example, if the network  16  is the Internet, a primary user interface of the system for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake may be delivered through a series of web pages or private internal web pages of a company or corporation, which may be written in hypertext markup language. It should be noted that the primary user interface of the system  10  may be another type of interface including, but not limited to, a Windows-based application, a tablet based application, and/or the like. 
     The network  16  may be almost any type of network. For example, in some embodiments, the network  16  may be a version of an Internet network (e.g., exist in a TCP/IP-based network). It is conceivable that in the near future, embodiments within the present disclosure may use more advanced networking technologies. 
     In some embodiments, the one or more external systems  17  may optionally communicate with the host systems  12 . For example, in one embodiment of the system  10 , the one or more external systems  17  may supply data transmissions via the network  16  to the host system  12  regarding real-time or substantially real-time events (e.g., food source updates, photographic or illustration image updates, and/or individualized user recommendations). Data transmission may be through any type of communication including, but not limited to, speech, visuals, signals, textual, and/or the like. Events may include, for example, data transmissions regarding individualized user messages or updates from a physician, for example, initiated via the one or more external systems  17 . It should be noted that the external systems  17  may be the same type and construction as the user device  14 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the one or more user devices  14  of the system  10  may include, but are not limited to implementation as a personal computer, a cellular telephone, a smart phone, a network-capable television set, a tablet, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a network-capable handheld device, a server, a digital video recorder, a wearable network-capable device, and/or the like. 
     In some embodiments, the user device  14  may include one or more input devices  18 , one or more output devices  20 , one or more processors  24 , one or more communication device  25  capable of interfacing with the network  16 , one or more non-transient memory  26  comprising processor executable code and/or software application(s), for example including, a web browser capable of accessing a website and/or communicating information and/or data over a wireless or wired network (e.g., network  16 ), and/or the like. The one or more non-transient memory  26  may also store a DHA intake application  27  that, when executed by the one or more processors  24  causes the user device  14  to collect information with respect to the user&#39;s diet that can be used to determine the user&#39;s DHA intake. In some embodiments, the DHA intake application  27  causes the one or more processors  24  to provide a FFQ tailored to determine DHA intake to the one or more output devices  20 , and to receive information from the user via the one or more input devices  18 . Such information can be stored either temporarily and/or permanently in the one or more non-transient memory  26  and/or transmitted to the host system  12  via the network  16  and the communication device  25 . 
     Embodiments of the system  10  for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake may also be modified to use any user device  14  or future developed devices capable of communicating with the host system  12  via the network  16 . 
     The one or more input devices  18  may be capable of receiving information input from a user and/or processor(s), and transmitting such information to other components of the user device  14  and/or the network  16 . The one or more input devices  18  may include, but are not limited to, implementation as a keyboard, touchscreen, mouse, trackball, microphone, fingerprint reader, infrared port, slide-out keyboard, flip-out keyboard, cell phone, PDA, remote control, fax machine, wearable communication device, network interface, combinations thereof, and/or the like, for example. 
     The one or more output devices  20  may be capable of outputting information in a form perceivable by a user and/or processor(s). For example, the output devices  20  may include, but are not limited to, implementations as a computer monitor, a screen, a touchscreen, a speaker, a website, a television set, a smart phone, a PDA, a cell phone, a fax machine, a printer, a laptop computer, combinations thereof, and the like, for example. It is to be understood that in some exemplary embodiments, the input device  18  and the output device  20  may be implemented as a single device, such as, for example, a touchscreen or a tablet. It is to be further understood that as used herein the term user is not limited to a human being, and may comprise, a computer, a server, a website, a processor, a network interface, a human, a user terminal, a virtual computer, combinations thereof, and/or the like, for example. 
     The one or more host systems  12  may be capable of interfacing and/or communicating with the user devices  14  and the external systems  17  via the network  16 . For example, the host systems  12  may be configured to interface by exchanging signals (e.g., analog, digital, optical, and/or the like) via one or more ports (e.g., physical ports or virtual ports) using a network protocol, for example. Additionally, each host system  12  may be configured to interface and/or communicate with other host systems directly and/or via the network  16 , such as by exchanging signals (e.g., analog, digital, optical, and/or the like) via one or more ports. 
     The network  16  may permit bi-directional communication of information and/or data between the host system  12 , the user devices  14 , and/or the external systems  17 . The network  16  may interface with the host system  12 , the user devices  14  and/or the external systems  17  in a variety of ways. For example, in some embodiments, the network  16  may interface by optical and/or electronic interfaces, and/or may use a plurality of network topographies and/or protocols including, but not limited to, Ethernet, TCP/IP, circuit switched path, combinations thereof, and/or the like. For example, in some embodiments, the network  16  may be implemented as the World Wide Web (or Internet), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan network, a 4G network, a satellite network, a radio network, an optical network, a cable network, a public switch telephone network, an Ethernet network, combinations thereof, and the like, for example. Additionally, the network  16  may use a variety of network protocols to permit bi-directional interface and/or communication of data and/or information between the host system  12 , the user devices  14  and/or the external systems  17 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , shown therein is a diagrammatic view of an exemplary embodiment of the host system  12 . In the illustrated embodiment, the host system  12  is provided with a database  32 , program logic  34 , and one or more processor  35 . The program logic  34  and the database  32  are stored on non-transitory computer readable storage media  36  accessible by the processor  35  of the host system  12 . It should be noted that as used herein program logic  34  is another term for instructions which can be executed by the processor  24  or the processor  35 . The database  32  can be a relational database. Examples of such databases comprise, DB2®, Microsoft® Access, Microsoft® SQL Server, Oracle®, mySQL, PostgreSQL, and the like. The database  32  can be centralized or distributed across multiple systems. 
     In some embodiments, the host system  12  may comprise one or more processors  35  working together, or independently to, execute processor executable code stored on the one or more non-transitory storage media. Additionally, each host system  12  may include at least one input device  28  and at least one output device  30 . Each element of the host system  12  may be partially or completely network-based or cloud-based, and may or may not be located in a single physical location. 
     The processor  35  may be implemented as a single processor or multiple processors working together, or independently, to execute the program logic  34  as described herein. It is to be understood, that in certain embodiments using more than one processor  35 , the processors  35  may be located remotely from one another, located in the same location, or comprising a unitary multi-core processor. The processors  35  may be capable of reading and/or executing processor executable code and/or capable of creating, manipulating, retrieving, altering, and/or storing data structures into the one or more non-transitory storage media  36 . 
     Exemplary embodiments of the processor  35  may be include, but are not limited to, a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microprocessor, a multi-core processor, combinations, thereof, and/or the like, for example. The processor  35  may be capable of communicating with the one or more non-transitory storage media  36  via a path (e.g., data bus). The processor  35  may be capable of communicating with the input devices  28  and/or the output devices  30 . 
     The processor  35  may be further capable of interfacing and/or communicating with the user devices  14  and/or the external systems  17  via the network  16 . For example, the processor  35  may be capable of communicating via the network  16  by exchanging signals (e.g., analog, digital, optical, and/or the like) via one or more ports (e.g., physical or virtual ports) using a network protocol to provide the FFQ (or updated FFQ) to the one or more user devices  14 , receive information from the one or more user devices  14  indicative of the users&#39; diets that can be correlated to their DHA intake. 
     The one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be capable of storing processor executable code. Additionally, the one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be implemented as a conventional non-transient memory, such as for example, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, a hard drive, a solid state drive, a flash drive, a memory card, a DVD-ROM, a disk, an optical drive, combinations thereof, and/or the like, for example. 
     In some embodiments, the one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be located in the same physical location as the host system  12 , and/or one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be located remotely from the host system  12 . For example, the one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be located remotely from the host system  12  and communicate with the processor  35  via the network  16 . Additionally, when more than one non-transitory storage media  36  is used, a first non-transitory storage media  36  may be located in the same physical location as the processor  35 , and additional non-transitory storage media  36  may be located in a remote physical location from the processor  35 . Additionally, one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be implemented as a “cloud” non-transitory storage media (i.e., one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may be partially or completely based on or accessed using the network  16 ). 
     The one or more input devices  28  of the host system  12  may transmit data to the processor  35  and may be similar to the input device  18  of the user device  14 . The input devices  28  may be located in the same physical location as the processor  35 , or located remotely and/or partially or completely network-based. The one or more output devices  30  of the host system  12  may transmit information from the processor  35  to a user, and may be similar to the output device  20  of the user device  14 . The output devices  30  may be located with the processor  24 , or located remotely and/or partially or completely network-based. 
     The one or more non-transitory storage media  36  may store processor executable code and/or information comprising one or more databases  32  and program logic  34 . In some embodiments, the processor executable code may be stored as a data structure, such as the database  32  and/or data table, for example. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4-8 , the system  10  for monitoring and alerting users of DHA intake may include the DHA intake application  27  executed by the processor  24  of the user device  14  that is capable of communicating with the host system  12  via the network  16 . The system  10  may include a separate program, application or “app”, or a widget, each of which may correspond to instructions stored in a non-transient, tangible storage medium for execution by a processor  24  of the user device  14 . Alternately, the system  10  may include instructions stored in a non-transient, tangible storage media for execution by the processor  35  of the host system  12  with results sent via the network  16  to be displayed on the output device  20  of the user device  14 . 
     The instructions of the DHA intake application  27 , when executed by the processor  24  of the user device  14 , cause the user device  14  to perform certain tasks. For example, such tasks may include displaying content such as a login screen  40 , a home screen  46 , an information input screen  52 , a food item selection screen  60 , a frequency and portion size selection screen  70 , and an output screen  80 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 4-8 , the login screen  40 , the home screen  46 , the information input screen  52 , the food item selection screen  60 , the frequency and portion size selection screen  70 , and the output screen  80  are shown as such screens may appear on the output device  20  of the user device  14 , such as an Apple® iPhone® or iPad®. The DHA intake application  27  may be implemented for use on other types of user devices  14  including, but not limited to, other mobile devices, personal computers, or laptop computers, with appropriate storage and processing capacity and internet or network connectivity. A user of the system  10  may interact via user interface implementations of the user device  14  such as, for instance, by using the touchscreen of the Apple® iPhone® or iPad®. In some embodiments of the system  10 , certain viewable screens of the DHA intake application  27  may be designed to switch from portrait to landscape presentation of the output device  20  of the user device  14  depending on the current orientation of the user device  14  being utilized. Such functionality is optional, and has no adverse impact on the functionality of the DHA intake application  27 . 
     It should also be noted that where necessary, desirable, or both, the food and supplement intake questions of the system  10  may be administered manually, for instance, by a physician and then entered into the system  10  via the input device  28  of the host system  12 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary login screen  40  of the DHA intake application  27  is shown. The login screen  40  of the DHA intake application  27  may have regions designed for input from the user associated with, for instance, a user ID  41 , and a password  42 . In some embodiments of the system  10 , the login screen  40  of the DHA intake application  27  may also include a password retrieval function (not shown) in the event a user loses or cannot remember their password to access the host system  12 . An alternative login function (not shown) may also be present on the login screen  40 , which provides login functionality and allows a user to login to the system  10  via other authentication or verification methods such as through the social networks Linkedin.com, or Facebook.com. Some embodiments of the system  10  may also allow a new user to register their information from the login screen  40  of the DHA intake application  27 . 
     Also shown in  FIG. 4  is an exemplary home screen  46  of the DHA intake application  27 . By using a start button  47  or other suitably assigned or programmed button or interactivity option (such as swiping) available on the user device  14 , a user may begin a DHA intake FFQ. In addition, the home screen  46  may include menu items such as a search history region  48 , an upload data region  49 , a settings region  50 , and/or an alerts region (not shown). Each of these respective regions allows a user to access the various aspects of the DHA intake application  27 . The menu regions offer navigational function in the DHA intake application  27 , however, it will be understood by one skilled in the art that such functionality is optional, and has no adverse impact on the functionality of the DHA intake application  27 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary information input screen  52  of the DHA intake application  27 . The information input screen  52  provides input regions  54  designed to accept input from a user. The information input screen  52  input regions  54  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  accessible by the host system  12  of the system  10 . Once information (e.g., name, age, height, weight, providence, city, email address, and education) has been put into the input regions  54 , users may transmit the information via the network  16  from communication device  25  of the user device  14  to the host system  12  for registration in the database  32 , by selecting, for instance, a save button (not shown) or other appropriately programmed button or other mechanism. As illustrated, the DHA intake application  27  may include a confirmation screen  56 . The confirmation screen  56  may, for instance, allow a user to verify they have entered the correct information in the input regions  54  before the information is transmitted via the network  16  from the communication device  25  of the user device  14  to the host system  12  for registration in the database  32 . However, if there is no connection via the network  16 , the data may be temporarily stored internally in the memory  26  of the user device  14  until a connection to the network  16  can be established. In another embodiment of the system  10 , the DHA intake application  27  may transmit the information to the host system  12  dynamically in real time as it is entered by the user. In still another embodiment of the system  10 , the DHA intake application  27  may transmit the information to the host system  12  at predetermined intervals. 
     Also illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the DHA intake application  27  may include an informed consent region  57 . The informed consent region  57  displayed on the information input screen  52  of the DHA intake application  27  may be included, for instance, where required by law, or when the user elects to share their information with third party(ies), for instance their physician. The informed consent region  57  may include an agree region  58  whereby the user may signal their consent to the terms contained in the informed consent region  57  by selecting the agree region  58 . The informed consent region may also include a disagree region  59  whereby the user may signal that they do not agree with the terms contained in the informed consent region  57  by selecting the disagree region  59 . It will be understood by one skilled in the art that the informed consent region  57  is optional and has no adverse impact on the DHA intake application  27 . 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary food item selection screen  60  of the DHA intake application  27 . The food item selection screen  60  is designed to allow the user to indicate the food item(s) consumed by selecting items from the food item selection region  67 , for instance, a text description  62 , a photographic image  61 , or an illustrated image (not shown). The user may customize how the food item selection region  67  is displayed on the output device  20  of the user device  14  by changing, for instance, the order in which the items are displayed using the item order region  63 , or the types of products displayed using the item type region  64 . The user may also narrow the search list of items by inputting the desired parameters and executing a search using a search region  65 . It will be understood by one skilled in the art that customization of the food item selection region  67  is optional functionality, and has no adverse impact on the functionality of the DHA intake application  27 . In addition to food items, the food item selection region  67  may also include supplements displayed and selected in a similar fashion to the food items described above. In one embodiment of the system  10  the DHA intake application  27  may transmit the food items selected in real time, without user intervention, from the communication device  25  of the user device  14  via the network  16  to the host system  12  where the selected food items are registered in the database  32 . In another embodiment, the selected food items may be transmitted when the user selects, for instance, submit, next, save, or other appropriately programmed option, indicating that the DHA intake application  27  should transmit the information. In another embodiment, the DHA intake application  27  may transmit the information at predetermined intervals. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary frequency and portion size selection screen  70  of the DHA intake application  27  of the system  10 . The frequency and portion size selection screen  70  includes an intake portion region  73 , an intake frequency region  74 , an item selection region  72 , and a frequency and portion navigation region  79   
     The intake frequency region  74  may include a month region  75 , a week region  76 , and a day region  77 . The month region  75 , may also include monthly frequency regions  75 A-C, the week region  76  may also include weekly frequency regions  76 A-F, and the day region  77  may include daily frequency regions  77 A-C, all designed to allow a user to select the frequency of intake of a selected food during a defined time period. In one embodiment of the DHA intake application  27 , selection of at least one of the monthly frequency regions  75 A-C, the weekly frequency regions  76 A-F, and the daily frequency regions  77 A-C, causes the program logic of the DHA intake application  27  to perform an action, such as, for instance, transmitting the selected information from the communication device  25  of the user device  14  via the network  16  to the host system  12  for registration in the database  32 . In another embodiment of the DHA intake application  27 , selection of at least one of the monthly frequency regions  75 A-C, the weekly frequency regions  76 A-F, and the daily frequency regions  77 A-C, causes the program logic of the DHA intake application  27  to perform an action, such as, for instance, storing the information in the memory  26  of the user device  14 . 
     The intake portion region  73  may include a numerical region  78  and a scaled image region  71 . The numerical region  78  may include numerical portion regions  78 A-H, and the scaled image region  71  may include portion image regions  71 A-E, all of which, when selected, cause the program logic of the DHA intake application  27  to perform an action. Those actions may be, but are not limited to, storing the selections in the memory  26  of the user device  14 , and transmitting via the communication device  25  of the user device  14  over the network  16  to the host system  12  the selections to be registered in the database  32 . It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that selections may be stored temporarily in the memory  26  of the user device  14  for transmission at a later time, either predetermined, or upon user selection. 
     The selected item region  72  may include at least one of an item image region  72 A and an item description region  72 B. 
     The frequency and portion navigation region  79  may include, for instance a next region  79 A, a back region (not shown), a delete region  79 B, a home region  79 C, a food list region  79 D, a my basket region  79 E, and a submit region  79 F. Regions  79 A-F allow a user to navigate the frequency and portion size selection screen  70  and/or the DHA intake application  27 . For instance, the next region  79 A may be included to allow a user to move to the next food item or supplement from their selected list to select the portion size and frequency for that food item or supplement. The selection of desired regions of the frequency and portion size selection screen  70  may be done using a touchscreen, a mouse, or any other suitable means compatible with the user device  14 . 
     The selected foods and/or supplements, the portion size, and the frequency of intake, when associated with a user, are parameters that represent individualized diet data. In one embodiment of the system  10 , parameters of the individualized diet data selected in the food item selection screen  60  and the frequency and portion size selection screen  70  of the DHA intake application  27  may be transmitted by the communication device  25  of the user device  14  via the network  16  to the host system  12  and registered in the database  32 . The parameters of the individualized diet data registered in the database  32  are analyzed utilizing the program logic  34  by the processor  35  of the host system  12 , in real time, without user intervention, using rule sets in the database  32  containing DHA concentrations in select foods, supplements, or a combination of both. The rule sets can be predetermined and/or the methods and systems can employ Artificial Intelligence techniques such as machine learning and iterative learning to generate the rule sets. Examples of such techniques include, but are not limited to, expert systems, case based reasoning, Bayesian networks, behavior based AI, neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation (e.g. genetic algorithms), swarm intelligence (e.g. ant algorithms), and hybrid intelligent systems (e.g., Expert inference rules generated through a neural network or production rules from statistical learning). 
     Using the analyzed parameters, the host system  12  of the system  10  generates an individualized DHA dietary intake indicative of the users DHA intake for the defined time period. The program logic  34  causes the individualized DHA dietary intake to be compared by the processor  35  of the host system  12  in real time, without user intervention, to relative recommended intake levels in the database  32  associated with a category of persons. The categories of persons may include pregnant women, and lactating women. It should be noted that the categories of persons may be further defined such as by trimester, or month of pregnancy, or by month or quarter for lactating or postpartum women, with different recommended intake levels associated with each in the database  32 . The host system  12  then automatically generates at least one of a report and an alert that may be sent to a target audience (e.g. the user and/or party(ies)) via at least one predetermined communication method from the output device  30  of the host system  12  via the network  16 . The at least one predetermined communication method(s) may include, but is not limited to, email, text message, facsimile, and on-screen display on the output device  20  of the user device  14  (see  FIG. 8 ) or the external system  17 . The at least one of a report and an alert may also be sent to a third party, or third parties, as selected by the user, for instance, on the information input screen  52  of the DHA intake application  27  and registered in the database  32  of the host system  12 . The third party(ies) may be, but are not limited to, physicians, midwifes, doulas, caretakers, hospitals, clinics, or other healthcare professionals. In one embodiment of the system  10 , the at least one of a report and alert may be transmitted from the output device  30  of the host system  12  to third party(ies) automatically, without user intervention. In another embodiment, the at least one of a report and alert may be transmitted from the output device  30  of the host system  12  to third party(ies) when selected by the user on a case by case basis, meaning, the user may select to send one or more reports by selecting, for instance, a send to region (not shown) of the output screen  80  in the DHA intake application  27 , or other appropriately programmed option. The at least one of a report and alert may include, but are not limited to, individualized DHA intake, a recommended DHA intake, dietary recommendations, DHA level warnings, personalized messages, general recommendations from a physician, personalized messages from a physician, follow up instructions, other pertinent information, or a combination of two or more of the preceding. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary output screen  80  of the DHA intake application  27 . The output screen  80  is provided with an alert region  81 , a confirm and submit region  82 , a history region  83 , and optionally, an upload screen  84 . The alert region  81  may include a navigation button such as, for instance, back to home region  81 A or close report (not shown). The confirm and submit region  82  may include a yes region  82 A and a no region  82 B, or similar regions designed to allow the user to accept or reject the information in the confirm and submit region  82  of the DHA intake application  27  displayed on the output device  20  of the user device  14 . The history region  83  may include a history display region  83 A and a history search region  83 B. The output screen  80  of the DHA intake application  27  may optionally include an upload screen  84 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an exemplary user information form  90  for separating and/or obtaining user information by a user database  32  of the host system  12  in accordance with one embodiment of the system  10 . The user information form  90  is provided with an account management region  99  and an account add/edit region  100 . The account management region  99  may include, for instance, a user ID region  91 , an account name region  92 , a user name region  93 , a login history region  94 , an actions regions  95 , and an user search region  96 . 
     The account add/edit region  100  is provided with regions designed for input by a user. The input regions of the account add/edit region  100  may include, but are not limited to, add new account, account name, password, doctor, doctor ID, hospital, hospital ID, province/city, please select province, please select city, and submit. The regions in the account add/edit region  100  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32 . In one embodiment of the system  10 , a user may input information in the regions of the account add/edit region  100  using the input device  28  of the host system  12 . When submitted, the program logic  34  of the system  10  causes the host system  12  to register the completed regions of the account edit/add region  100  of the user information form  90  in the database  32 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary food item form  110  for separating and/or obtaining food item information by a user database  32  of the host system  12  in accordance with one embodiment of the system  10 . The food item form  110  is provided with regions designed to accept input from a user. The regions of the food item form may include, but are not limited to, publish food, food name, food alias, food ID, food picture, size picture, food category, total fatty acids (g0100 g of edible part), DHA/total fatty acids (%), DHA mg/100 g of edible part, level of recommendation, salty-water seafood, fresh-water seafood, common food, formula for mothers, food item region (not shown), frozen (not shown), fresh (not shown), dried (not shown), canned (not shown), pickled (not shown), freeze-dried (not shown), and gels for mothers. The regions of the food item form  110  are associated with appropriate fields in the database  32 . The food item form  110  may be designed to allow a user to add new food items or supplements to the database  32 . In one embodiment of the system  10 , a user may input information into the regions of the food item form  110  using the input device  28  of the host system  12 , when submitted, the program logic  34  of the system  10  causes the host system  12  to register the completed regions of the food item form  110  in the database  32  in such new food items may be included in an updated FFQ, tailored for DHA intake, which is transmitted to the user devices  14 . 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an exemplary participant information form  120  for separating and/or obtaining participant information by the database  32  of the host system  12  in accordance with one embodiment of the system  10 . The participant information form  120  is provided with a participant management region  122  and a participant add/edit region  124 . The participant management region  122  may include, for instance, a participant ID region, a participant name ID region, an assessment address region, a doctor number region, a doctor region, a date region, an actions region, a date search region, and a doctor search region. 
     The participant add/edit region  124  is provided with regions designed for input by a user. The input regions of the participant add/edit region  124  may include, but are not limited to, a participant information region  126 , a food intake region  127 , a doctor information region  128 , an assessment results region  129 , and an assessment date region  130 . 
     The participant information region  126 , food intake region  127 , doctor information region  128 , assessment results region  129 , and assessment date region  130  in the participant add/edit region  124  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  of the system  10 . In one embodiment of the system  10 , a user may input information in the regions of the participant add/edit region  124  using the input device  28  of the host system  12 , when submitted, the program logic  34  of the system  10  causes the host system  12  to register the completed regions of the participant add/edit region  124  of the participant information form  120  in the database  32 . 
     The participant information region  126  of the participant add/edit region  124  may include regions designed to accept input from a user. Exemplary regions include, but are not limited to, an ID region, a name region, an age region, a height region, a weight region, a province region, a city region, an email region, a phone number region (not shown), an address region (not shown), and an education region. The regions of the participant information region  126  of the participant add/edit region  124  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  of the system  10 . The regions of the participant information region  126  may be used to separate and/or obtain personally identifiable information about a participant that may be used, for instance, to uniquely identify the participant, categorize the participant in a study, or associate the participant with a relevant region or locale. In addition, information entered in some regions of the participant information region  126 , for instance, the email region, the phone number region (not shown), or the address region (not shown) may be used by the host system  12  of the system  10  to send at least one of a report and alert from the output device  30  in response to certain events. These events may include, but are not limited to, completion of an DHA intake FFQ, a DHA dietary intake relative to a recommended intake, a DHA dietary intake being below a predefined level relative to a recommended intake, a current DHA dietary intake being different from a past DHA dietary intake, sending a dietary recommendation responsive to the DHA dietary intake relative to the recommended intake being a predetermined relation (e.g., above or below) a predefined baseline, and an updated DHA dietary intake relative to the recommended intake being a predetermined relation (e.g., above or below) a predefined baseline. 
     The food intake region  127  of the participant add/edit region  124  may include regions designed to accept input from a user. Exemplary regions include, but are not limited to, a food items region, a frequency region, and an intake amount of each item region. The regions of the food intake region  127  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  of the system  10 . It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the regions of the food intake region  127  are associated with the food and/or supplement items, the portion size, and the frequency of intake, which may be selected by a participant completing the DHA intake FFQ. When, for instance, a participant enters their food and/or supplement intake for a defined time period in the DHA intake application  27 . That information is sent from the communication device  25  of the user device  14  to the host system  12  where the processor  35  registers the information in the appropriate fields of the database  32  associated with the participant. The food item, frequency, and intake amount could then be viewed in the food items region, frequency region, and intake amount of each item region respectively, of the food intake region  127 , for instance, on the output device  30  of the host system  12  of the system  10 . 
     The doctor information region  128  of the participant add/edit region  124  may include regions designed to accept input from a user. Exemplary regions include, but are not limited to, a doctor name region, and a log-in name region. The regions of the doctor information region  128  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  of the system  10 . 
     The regions of the doctor information region  128  may allow the system  10  to facilitate communication between a doctor and a participant, for instance, by associating a doctor with a participant (e.g., user) in the database  32 . The participant may elect to have the system  10  automatically send at least one of a report and alert to the doctor and/or the user&#39;s user device  14  in response to certain events. These events may include, but are not limited to, completion of an DHA intake FFQ, a DHA dietary intake relative to a recommended intake (which is referred to herein as a “baseline”), a DHA dietary intake being below a predefined level, e.g., a baseline, relative to a recommended intake, a current DHA dietary intake being different from a past DHA dietary intake, sending a dietary recommendation responsive to the DHA dietary intake being below a predefined baseline or sending a dietary recommendation responsive to the DHA dietary intake being above a predefined baseline, and an updated DHA dietary intake relative to the recommended intake being below a predefined baseline. The recommended intake can be set by a government and/or private industry for a particular geographic region. For example, the “Recommended Daily Intake” (RDI) is a daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97-98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the United States. The RDI was developed in the United States, but has since been used in other countries and regions. The RDI is based upon the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) which may be updated from time to time and used within various locals to determine the recommended intake of DHA. When standards from the present form of the Recommended Dietary Allowances are used, the recommended intake of DHA may be between 100 mg and 200 mg. 
     The baseline can be set as the top level or less than the top level of the range of the recommended intake of DHA. In some embodiments, the baseline can be set less than a predetermined percentage of the top level of the range of the recommended intake of DHA. The predetermined percentage can be 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, 30%, 31%, 32%, 33%, 34%, 35%, 36%, 37%, 38%, 39%, 40%, 41%, 42%, 43%, 44%, 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, 49%, 50%, 51%, 52%, 53%, 54%, 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%, 60%, 61%, 62%, 63%, 64%, 65%, 66%, 67%, 68%, 69%, 70%, 71%, 72%, 73%, 74%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99% and 100% of the top level of the range of the recommended intake of DHA. When the recommended intake of DHA is between 100 mg and 200 mg, the baseline can be set at a level equal to or less than 200 mg, such as, 1 mg, 2 mg, 3 mg, 4 mg, 5 mg, 6 mg, 7 mg, 8 mg, 9 mg, 10 mg, 11 mg, 12 mg, 13 mg, 14 mg, 15 mg, 16 mg, 17 mg, 18 mg, 19 mg, 20 mg, 21 mg, 22 mg, 23 mg, 24 mg, 25 mg, 26 mg, 27 mg, 28 mg, 29 mg, 30 mg, 31 mg, 32 mg, 33 mg, 34 mg, 35 mg, 36 mg, 37 mg, 38 mg, 39 mg, 40 mg, 41 mg, 42 mg, 43 mg, 44 mg, 45 mg, 46 mg, 47 mg, 48 mg, 49 mg, 50 mg, 51 mg, 52 mg, 53 mg, 54 mg, 55 mg, 56 mg, 57 mg, 58 mg, 59 mg, 60 mg, 61 mg, 62 mg, 63 mg, 64 mg, 65 mg, 66 mg, 67 mg, 68 mg, 69 mg, 70 mg, 71 mg, 72 mg, 73 mg, 74 mg, 75 mg, 76 mg, 77 mg, 78 mg, 79 mg, 80 mg, 81 mg, 82 mg, 83 mg, 84 mg, 85 mg, 86 mg, 87 mg, 88 mg, 89 mg, 90 mg, 91 mg, 92 mg, 93 mg, 94 mg, 95 mg, 96 mg, 97 mg, 98 mg, 99 mg, 100 mg, 101 mg, 102 mg, 103 mg, 104 mg, 105 mg, 106 mg, 107 mg, 108 mg, 109 mg, 110 mg, 111 mg, 112 mg, 113 mg, 114 mg, 115 mg, 116 mg, 117 mg, 118 mg, 119 mg, 120 mg, 121 mg, 122 mg, 123 mg, 124 mg, 125 mg, 126 mg, 127 mg, 128 mg, 129 mg, 130 mg, 131 mg, 132 mg, 133 mg, 134 mg, 135 mg, 136 mg, 137 mg, 138 mg, 139 mg, 140 mg, 141 mg, 142 mg, 143 mg, 144 mg, 145 mg, 146 mg, 147 mg, 148 mg, 149 mg, 150 mg, 151 mg, 152 mg, 153 mg, 154 mg, 155 mg, 156 mg, 157 mg, 158 mg, 159 mg, 160 mg, 161 mg, 162 mg, 163 mg, 164 mg, 165 mg, 166 mg, 167 mg, 168 mg, 169 mg, 170 mg, 171 mg, 172 mg, 173 mg, 174 mg, 175 mg, 176 mg, 177 mg, 178 mg, 179 mg, 180 mg, 181 mg, 182 mg, 183 mg, 184 mg, 185 mg, 186 mg, 187 mg, 188 mg, 189 mg, 190 mg, 191 mg, 192 mg, 193 mg, 194 mg, 195 mg, 196 mg, 197 mg, 198 mg, 199 mg, 200 mg. It should also be understood that the baseline could be multiple values within a range, such as multiple values starting at less than the top level of the range of the recommended intake of DHA, less than a bottom level of the range of the recommended intake of DHA, or less than any number within the range from the bottom level to the top level. In some embodiments, the baseline may be above the top level of the range of the recommended intake of DHA. For example, a recommendation for consuming less DHA could be automatically provided to a user in the event the user was consuming more than the recommended intake of DHA. 
     The baseline may be between 0 mg to 200 mg, between 50 mg to 200 mg, between 25 mg to 200 mg, between 10 mg to 100 mg, or include multiple values between and/or including any two numbers within the ranges specified above, such as between 75 mg and 150 mg. In this instance, an alert and/or recommendation may be sent to the participant&#39;s user device  14  and/or the participant&#39;s doctor when the daily intake is 75 mg, 150 mg or any value in between, such as 80 mg, 100 mg, or 125 mg. 
     In addition, the system  10  may allow a doctor, whose information is associated with a participant in the database  32 , to communicate with the participant. For instance, in one embodiment, the doctor may enter a message in one of the external systems  17  and transmit the message via the network  16  to the host system  12  where the processor  35  accesses the database  32  to verify that the doctor is associated with the participant. Once the host system  12  determines the doctor is associated with the participant, the processor  35  of the host system  12  determines the predetermined communication method associated with the participant in the database  32  and causes the host system  12  output device  30  to transmit via the network  16  the message, for instance, to the user device  14  to be displayed on the output device  20 . 
     It will be recognized by one skilled in the art, that the system  10  may allow communication and/or at least one of a report and an alert to be sent to any users of the system  10  whose information has been associated with one another in the database  32 . 
     The assessment results region  129  of the participant add/edit region  124  may include regions designed to accept input from a user. Exemplary regions include, but are not limited to, a daily DHA intake amount region, an assessment address region, and a DHA intake compared to recommended level region. The regions of the assessment results region  129  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  of the system  10 . 
     The assessment date region  130  of the participant add/edit region  124  may include regions designed to accept input from a user. Exemplary regions include, but are not limited to, a date of last assessment region. The regions of the assessment date region  130  may be associated with appropriate fields in the database  32  of the system  10 . 
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     From the above description, it is clear that the inventive concept(s) disclosed herein are well adapted to carry out the objects and to attain the advantages mentioned herein, as well as those inherent in the inventive concept(s) disclosed herein. While the embodiments of the inventive concept(s) disclosed herein have been described for purposes of this disclosure, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made and readily suggested to those skilled in the art which are accomplished within the scope and spirit of the inventive concept(s) disclosed herein.