Being applied manufacturing experience of optical systems or precision measuring equipments being cultivated until then, Calorie Answer was jointly developed by Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center and Joy World Pacific, and is the world first revolutionary calorie measuring instrument.

Heretofore, calories of foods required asking an inspection agency and several days before getting results. The product, however, realizes this just in a few minutes.

Besides, it is capable of measuring the amount of food ingredients, such as protein, fat, carbohydrate, and moisture, patented in six countries around the world.

NIR spectroscopic analysis method, applied to measurements of Calorie Answer, is an analytical form that calculates the amount of ingredients by the change of degree of absorption, or absorbance, of NIR rays being radiated to the measuring object, due to the resonance with molecular vibration.

NIR spectroscopic analysis method is an attention-getting and useful technology in various fields, is applied that offers Calorie Answer with NIR rays being illuminated onto foods, and with the analysis of the absorbance or the wavelengths of the absorption, of the identification of the component and the calculation of amount of calories or contents of ingredients.

To draw on the amount of nutrient components, physical and chemical analysis of foods is the commonest and most credible method.

Current condition, however, has not been so simple and convenient, because it takes about from seven to ten days back and forth by receiving the result.

Calorie Answer offers a-few-minutes measurements and on-site results, and the consequences have great effects on the time-critical situation, such as in product development or in the aid of natinal registered dietitians.

On the basis of Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, such as Seventh Revised Edition, a calculation method is also available.

Except because values of tables of food composition are averages and actual values of nutrient components are different in respect of the food state, the processing history, its producing district and season, and so on, there is a respect that they are not necessarily adequate.

As to Calorie Answer, directly measuring of the target food offers real-time measurements including individual differences from the foods states.

Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter used in Calorie Answer, which avails of anisotropic Bragg diffraction of light produced by transverse ultrasonic waves propagating in a tellurium dioxide (TeO 2) single crystal, modulating the frequency and amplitude of the driving high frequency signal, can diffract and emit incident light at any wavelength and intensity.

• Biomedical field
• Spectroanalysis
• Process control (material analysis)
• Remote sensing

Supposed application	High speed spectroscope, color separation device, etc.
Driving electric power	2W and below
Spectroscopic speed	About 10 μs per wavelength/abour 4 ms in 200 wavelength division The assumed period is 10 μs
Spectroscopic wavelength range	Selectable near infrared range (1100 to 2200 nm)
Resolution	7.5 nm at the wavelength of 1300 nm
Maximum diffraction efficiency	65% and above
Driving frequency	40 to 82 MHz
Maximum electrical input	Tolerance is 5W and below
Input impedance	50 Ω (nominal value)