Christina M. Lirot, Diane E. Cessna, and Kay H. Connelly

1
Development of an open-source UPC/Nutrition
Database with a handheld device
Christina M. Lirot, Diane E. Cessna, and Kay H.
Connelly Computer Science Department, Indiana
University Bloomington, Indiana 47405
Why? What? How?
Abstract We are developing an open-source,
publicly-available database that connects UPC
codes to nutritional information. The main
hurdle in this project is seeding the database
with information. Our approach will be to
populate the database enough to show its
usefulness, and then call upon the help of
populations that would benefit from access to
such a resource (i.e. people with allergies or
other dietary restrictions). We are in the first
stage of the project developing the software for
updating and accessing the database. The
software consists of two components 1. a
user-friendly web site for accessing information
in the database and for uploading new entries and
2. a PDA program that works with a barcode reader
to facilitate data entry. The second stage will
consist of populating the database with entries.
Like many of the open-source projects, it is our
hope that the public will become actively
involved in this project once they see how it can
benefit them (e.g. help people with allergies
avoid certain foods often overlooked in
processing).
What we are doing now?
We recently examined the user interface and have
decided to complete the coding for a interactive
user study. The user study will take place at the
end of February we will make changes to the
interface design as they use the application. We
are extracting words based on nutritional facts,
ingredients and foods to populate the pop-up
lists in the interface. We believe that this will
help with misspellings that can occur with long
unknown words. We are in the beginning of phase 1
of the web service application.
?
Future Work

• Start programming for web services
• Designing the interface for the web
• Refining the PDA interface
• Populate database with realistic data from users
• Conduct another user study to re-test interface
  on PDA

• The software can be freely given away or sold
• The source code must either be included or freely
  obtainable
• Redistribution of modifications must be allowed

What we are doing now?
Food Restrictions and Allergies
IU Bloomington Researchers

• Food Restrictions
• Many face food restrictions patients with
• Diabetes
• Kidney
• Obesity
• Cancer
• Heart Disease

• SURG - Security for Ubiquitous Resources Group -
  SURG investigates a variety of issues in
  ubiquitous computing, including security, privacy
  and user acceptance. The key attributes of our
  target environment are Sensors and processors
  embedded in the physical environment, Mobile
  devices and users, Collaborative applications,
  Context-aware (physical and virtual)
  applications, and Non-technical users
• Pervasive Technology Labs - Performs
  leading-edge research based on the pervasiveness
  of information technology in our world, creating
  new inventions, devices, and software that extend
  the capabilities of information technology in
  advanced research and everyday lives

• Food Allergy Symptoms
• scratchy throat
• anaphylaxis
• abdominal pain
• diarrhea
• nausea
• vomiting
• stomach cramps
• itching of the mouth, throat, eyes, skin, or any
  area
• hives
• swelling of the eyelids, face, lips, and tongue
• light-headedness or fainting
• nasal congestion
• runny nose
• shortness of breath
• wheezing
• difficulty swallowing

References

• SURG 21 Nov 2005 lthttp//www.cs.indiana.edu/surg/gt
  
• Pervasive Technology Labs 21 Nov 2005
  lthttp//www.pervasivetechnologylabs.iu.edu/gt
• USDA United States Department of Agriculture 21
  Nov 2005 lthttp//www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usdahomegt
  
• AllRefer Health Food Allergies. 16 Nov 2005
  lthttp//health.allrefer.com/health/food-allergy-fo
  od-allergies.htmlgt
• Kay Connelly, Katie A. Siek, Yvonne Rogers,
  Josette Jones, Michael A. Kraus, Susan Perkins,
  Laurie L. Trevino and Janet L. Welch, Designing a
  PDA Interface for Dialysis Patients to monitor
  diet in their everyday Life. In the Proceedings
  of HCI International 2005.
• English, Colin, Nixon Paddy, et al. Dynamic Trust
  Models for Ubiquitous Computing Environments.
  Department of Computer and Information Sciences,
  University of Strathclyde presentation 2004.
• S.S. Intille, C. Kukla, R. Farzanfar, and W.
  Bakr, Just-in-time technology to encourage
  incremental, dietary behavior change, in
  Proceedings of the AMIA 2003 Symposium Wiley
  2003.

http//mypage.iu.edu/dcessna/CREU