Acoustic Tribology Validation Study

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Dairy-based beverages contain fat and sugars. As both contribute to the energy intake upon consumption, food industry strives to reduce these ingredients while maintaining the taste, texture and aroma properties of the beverages. A successful reduction of fat and sugar from drinks has still proven a great challenge since consumers have less preference for the mouth feel of reformulated beverages than for the regular beverages. Mainly because instrumental measures like rheology and traditional tribology do not entirely predict the experienced mouth feel, there is an interest in alternative correlates for mouth feel aspects related to fat and sugar perception. In a recent study it was demonstrated that vibrations produced during interaction between the tongue, palate and beverages during consumption are very sensitive to the amount of fat and texturizers in the beverage. The present study aims at clarifying that relation for a larger panel of human subjects, by systematically evaluating vibration spectra during consumption of dairy beverages that differ in fat content, sugar content or pH. Secondly, the correlation of vibration spectra (acoustic tribology) with mouth feel-related sensory properties and composition of fat deposits on the tongue will be assessed.

Official Title
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Validation Study to Evaluate the Use of Acoustic Tribology to Assess Mouthfeel of Dairy Drinks

Conditions
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Mouth Feel in Relation to Food Preference and Energy Intake

Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age 18-65 years Healthy set of teeth Ability to work with sensory descriptors for dairy products. Able to produce an acoustic signal that is larger than the background signal Voluntary participation Having given written informed consent Willing to comply with study procedures Willing to accept use of all encoded data, including publication, and the confidential use and storage of all data Willing to accept disclosure of the financial benefit of participation in the study to the authorities concerned Exclusion Criteria: Wearing dentures Inability to comply with instructions for acoustic tribology A self-reported food allergy or sensitivity for ingredients of the test products

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Powers in segments of time-frequency transferred vibration data | Spectral powers of acoustic signals (in V^2/s) produced by tongue-palate interactions during consumption of various foods in the bands 60-300Hz and 400-2000Hz. | between 2s and 20s after consumption of each sip | 
| Ratios of powers in segments of time-frequency transferred vibration data | Ratios of spectral powers in the 400-2000Hz band over powers in the 60-300Hz band of acoustic signals produced by tongue-palate interactions during consumption of various foods (unit-free). | 2-20 seconds after consumption of each sip | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reported rating of product thickness | Evaluation of product thickness on a Visual Analogue Scale (mm distance from the lower anchor) | 0-2 sec after consumption of each sip | 
| Relative fat content in the collected tongue coating | percentage of fat encountered in tongue coating that was collected with a swab immediately after consumption | 2-20 sec after consumption of each sip | 
| Reported rating of product Creaminess | Evaluation of product creaminess on a Visual Analogue Scale (mm distance from the lower anchor) | 0-2 sec after consumption of each sip | 
| Reported rating of product Roughness | Evaluation of product roughness on a Visual Analogue Scale (mm distance from the lower anchor) | 0-2 sec after consumption of each sip | 
| Relative sugar content in the collected tongue coating | percentage of sugars encountered in tongue coating that was collected with a swab immediately after consumption | 2-20 seconds after bite consumption | 
| Relative protein content in the collected tongue coating | percentage of protein encountered in tongue coating that was collected with a swab immediately after consumption | 2-20 seconds after bite consumption | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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mouth feel, acoustic tribology, vibration spectrum, sensory perception