EAT: A Reliable Eating Assessment Technology for Free-living Individuals

Northwestern University

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Wearable Electronic Device

Treatments: Device: Cartoon Obfuscation; Device: Edge Obfuscation; Device: No Obfuscation (raw); Device: Blur Obfuscation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT06118528

STU00215714

1R01DK129843-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study utilizes a small, privacy-conscious wearable device intended to monitor human behaviors. The device is worn around the neck, capturing the wearer's head and upper torso within its field of view, and records color images without audio. Participants visit the lab for consent, device training and recording of several activities using the device. Participants will then take the device home and wear it during their normal schedules for four "active" weeks. During each active week, participants will wear the device, keep a log of all food and drink items consumed throughout the day and participate in unscheduled phone calls with a dietitian. A "washout" week occurs in between each active week in which participants do not need to complete any study tasks. Alongside the device, we have included three privacy filters (blur, edge, and avatar) capable of obscuring faces and objects seen in the device-captured images. All participants will be subject to unfiltered recording during their first week followed by a different filter each following active week in a random order. At the start of each active week, participants view an example of what their recorded images will look like that week (given the privacy filter). At the end of the seven weeks, participants will return the device and provide the lab with feedback on the design of the device and its privacy-preserving features.

Enrollment: 72 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• BMI greater than or equal to 18.5
• Chicago metropolitan area resident
• Able to speak, read and write in English
• Has a valid phone number
• Owns a smartphone
• Has access to a computer

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnant or breastfeeding individuals
• Experienced significant weight loss/gain in the last three months (25 lbs or more)
• Diagnosed with or has a family history of genetic obesity syndromes (e.g., Prader-Willi, Bardet-Biedl, Cohen Syndrome)
• Member of household enrolled in the study

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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72 participants in 4 patient groups

Blur Obfuscation

Experimental group

Treatment:

Device: Blur Obfuscation

Edge Obfuscation

Experimental group

Treatment:

Device: Edge Obfuscation

Cartoon Obfuscation

Experimental group

Treatment:

Device: Cartoon Obfuscation

No Obfuscation (Raw)

Experimental group

Treatment:

Device: No Obfuscation (raw)