Food Quantification Using a Novel, User Friendly Plate Imaging System

Using a Novel, User Friendly Plate Imaging System to Quantify Food Consumption in Hospitals

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT07183449

Enrollment

Registered

2025-09-19

Start date

2025-09-08

Completion date

2026-03-31

Last updated

2026-05-12

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Stroke

Keywords

Dietary Assessment, Plate Imaging Systems, Stroke patients

Brief summary

This pilot study aims to assess the feasibility of implementing a plate imaging system for dietary assessment in a stroke rehabilitation ward at University Hospital Southampton. The duration of the study is 12 weeks with an estimated sample size of 50 patients. This is a single centre study.

Detailed description

Accurate dietary intake monitoring is essential to provide appropriate treatment for patients at risk of malnutrition, but collection of food intake data in hospital is a difficult and resource-intensive task. Paper food record charts are often incorrect or incomplete due to competing responsibilities and tasks at mealtimes, inadequate training, or removal of food trays before staff have observed intakes. Malnutrition within the hospital setting therefore continues to be under-identified and under-treated and is estimated to account for around 20% of the health and social care budget in 2023. The causes of malnutrition in hospitals are multifactorial and include acute illness or disease, dislike of food, and psychosocial or environmental factors. Approaches trialled in clinical settings to optimise dietary intakes of patients to date include protected mealtimes, dedicated mealtime assistance, and changes to the presentation and preparation of food. Across the literature, poor food intake and malnutrition was highly correlated with poor patient outcomes. In line with the NHS long-term plan and the UHS digital team's plan for a paperless digital Trust, a digital dietary assessment tool would provide a valid and reliable tool to accurately monitor dietary intakes. Electronic records will enable examination of longitudinal changes in intakes and/or dietary quality, and to identify patterns of intakes associated with positive or negative clinical outcomes.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Patients who eat hospital food * Patients with a capacity to give consent * Non-English-speaking patients with interpreters * Patients who are aged 18 years and above

Exclusion criteria

* Patients who receive exclusive parenteral or enteral nutrition * Patients who do not eat hospital provided meals * Patients on end-of-life care plan * Patients who do not give consent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Nutritional Intake	Week 1 up to week 12 of the study	Nutritional intake in calories (kcal), macronutrients and micronutrients as measured by the plate imaging system

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Length of stay	From week 1 up to week 12 of study	Length of stay in hospital as measured by the date of admission to the ward to the date of discharge from the ward.
Weight	From week 1 up to week 12 of the study	Weight as measured on the date of admission to the ward to the date of discharge

Countries

United Kingdom

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORCaroline E Childs, BSc (Hons), PhD

University of Southampton

Outcome results