Electronic tongue targets food, medical applications

Nov. 14, 2014

We’ve reported earlier on an electronic nose. Now, there is a new and improved electronic tongue, which could sample food and drinks as a quality check before they hit store shelves. Or it could someday monitor water for pollutants or test blood for signs of disease, as reported at Newswise. With an eye toward these applications, scientists S. V. Litvinenko and colleagues are reporting the development of a new, inexpensive and highly sensitive version of such a device in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The scientists work at the Institute of High Technologies at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

A toast to the electronic tongue (DimaSobko/iStock/ Thinkstock)

Sensors in the tongue detect substances in a sample and send signals to a computer for processing. The scientists note that the food and beverage industry and others have started deploying electronic tongues for a range of purposes from authenticating Thai food to measuring beer quality. But existing devices are limited in how they can be used. Litvinenko’s team decided to make an improved instrument that could have applications in medical diagnostics, pharmaceutical testing, and environmental monitoring, as well as food testing.

Visit Newswise for more.

About the Author

Rick Nelson

Contributing Editor

Rick is currently Contributing Technical Editor. He was Executive Editor for EE in 2011-2018. Previously he served on several publications, including EDN and Vision Systems Design, and has received awards for signed editorials from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He began as a design engineer at General Electric and Litton Industries and earned a BSEE degree from Penn State.