Enhancement of an infrared based fat measurement sensor

Infrared has been widely used in many engineering applications especially in medical devices. For example, in biomedical engineering, infrared based sensors are used to detect and measure human body composition such as water content, fat percentage and muscle mass. Infrared based sensors are popular as it enables a fast and non-destructive method to detect fat content and water in food items. Many researchers have used infrared radiation techniques to detect and measure fat since fat is a nutrient that is needed by our body to generate energy for daily life activities. However, excessive consumption of fats will be detrimental to health. Thus, there is a need for an easy fast and cost effective method to measure fat. This paper provides an overview of research in this area; that is the use of infrared technology to detect and measure fat in food items. In addition, this paper presents the preliminary result of a research to develop an efficient fat sensor based on infrared technology.