A4 Refereed article in a conference publication
Assessing Hospital Patient Nutrient Intake with an AI-Powered Food Recognition System – A Feasibility Study of the FlavoriaFlex solution; 
Authors: Khalil, Rehan; Koskimäki, Sanna; Lähde, Hanna; Bhetuwal, Shyam; Koivunen, Lauri; Houttu, Veera; Laitinen, Kirsi; Mäkilä, Tuomas
Editors: Kalra, Jay
Conference name: International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics
Publication year: 2026
Journal: AHFE International
Book title : Healthcare and Medical Devices : Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics and the Affiliated Conferences, Istanbul, Turkey, 20-24 July 2026
Volume: 211
First page : 20
Last page: 30
ISBN: 978-1-964867-87-8
eISSN: 2771-0718
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1007465
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Open Access publication channel
Web address : http://dx.doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1007465
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/533884965
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY NC ND
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Adequate dietary intake is essential for positive clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients, yet monitoring food intake is labor-intensive and often subjective. AI-based food recognition could automate monitoring and assessment, but evidence in real-world hospital settings is limited. This study evaluated an AI-powered food recognition system, FlavoriaFlex, to assess its detection performance, deployment feasibility, and acceptability among dietitians. Previously validated in restaurant (F1 0.75, weight MAE 23.6 g, energy MAE 235 kcal), the system was deployed in a hospital ward for six days. A total of 133 meals were recorded; 102 had paired leftover images (235 total images). Manual annotation of 483 food segments provided ground truth for evaluating food recognition and menu mapping. Semi-structured interviews with dietitians assessed usability, perceived benefits, and clinical value. FlavoriaFlex enabled automatic estimation of item- and meal-level consumption, including weights and energy- and macronutrient contents. Overall food recognition accuracy was 94% (F1 0.76), remaining high for served meals (96.5%, F1 0.85) and robust for visually complex leftovers (89.5%, F1 0.71). Unknown/non-food segments were minimal (2.4% of leftovers; 0.27% of weight). A web dashboard delivered real-time visualizations, including energy and nutrient intake. Dietitians reported reduced cognitive burden, more objective assessment, and improved observability into patient dietary intake, while emphasizing the need for further validation and integration for clinical use. These findings demonstrate that FlavoriaFlex could be integrated into hospital workflows to provide accurate, clinically meaningful intake estimates, with AI-assisted food recognition offering an efficient, reliable approach to improving nutritional monitoring at scale.
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, AI, Dietary assessment, Food intake, Food Recognition, Malnutrition, Nutrient intake
Downloadable publication This is an electronic reprint of the original article. |
Funding information in the publication:
This research was supported by Business Finland (2022/31/2023). We gratefully acknowledge the Flavoria® multidisciplinary research platform and our colleagues at the Nutrition and Food Research Center of the University of Turku for their continued support.