Opertech Bio Receives U.S. Patent for High-Throughput Taste Evaluation Technology
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) September 02, 2014
Opertech Bio, Inc., a company that has pioneered a new highly efficient, cost effective approach to sensory evaluation, today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 8,820,265 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, encompassing high-throughput sensory discrimination technologies proprietary to Opertech.
“Opertech’s taste evaluation technology called Microtiter Operant Gustometer or MOG, is the first automated high throughput system for rapid characterization of taste sensory properties,” said R. Kyle Palmer, Opertech’s Chief Science Officer and inventor of the technology. “Before MOG, taste testing required many subjects, large amounts of test samples, and days to weeks for evaluation of only a few samples—all adding up to extensive expenditures in resources and dollars. MOG accomplishes the task on hundreds of samples in an afternoon, using far fewer subjects and much less sample at a fraction of the cost and with greater accuracy and consistency than previously possible,” he added.
Opertech’s proprietary technologies capture both hedonic (appetitiveness/aversiveness, or palatability) as well as chemosensory quality information from large numbers of samples in a short period of time. For example, Opertech’s MOG can be configured to accommodate a standard microtiter plate (a pharmaceutical 96-well plate) from which individual samples are dispensed/presented one at a time to a subject for evaluation with hedonic and chemosensory quality information captured/recorded for each sample in a short period of time (e.g., 96 samples can be tested and a sensory response recorded for each sample in 90 minutes or less).
The MOG Approach to Taste Evaluation
MOG is an entirely new approach to taste testing and measurement for both humans and animals. MOG is an automated high throughput system with the capacity to determine the taste characteristics of hundreds of samples in less than an hour. Testing with MOG does not rely on subjective rating scales of taste sensation and can be performed with 3 to 4 subjects for either humans or animals. Taste sample sizes are small—a fraction of the amounts required for traditional taste tests—translating to dramatic savings in costs associated with synthesizing or purifying new ingredients.
More data means greater informative power. The comparatively large data sets that are rapidly generated by MOG are amenable to sophisticated computational and analytic tools not practical for the limited information from traditional taste assessment. Among the many advantages that result are vastly reduced errors, greater precision in detecting taste effects, improved consistency and predictive value of test outcomes, and the ability to more quickly and broadly test across a diversity of human subjects.
About Opertech Bio, Inc.:
Opertech Bio has developed a revolutionary approach to taste testing, a multi-billion dollar market covering the food and beverage, flavor ingredients, pet food, and pharmaceutical industries. Opertech Bio’s technology can be used to discover new flavor ingredients, measure palatability, and optimize flavor formulations. For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.opertechbio.com.