Tasty Spoon to boost flavours for people with dementia being developed in Rotherham

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s invention aims to help people maintain a level of healthy nutrition.

The Tasty Spoon uses electrostimulation to combat the decline of taste buds which can lead to patients not eating sufficient amounts of the right foods – or overdoing the salt or sugar to compensate for loss of flavour.

Dr Christian Morgner, of the University of Sheffield’s Management School and Healthy Lifespan Institute, said: “A loss of taste can remove the enjoyment of food which impacts patient wellbeing as food plays such a significant role in our lives.

“This is especially prevalent in patients who live alone or in public care homes with more generalised nutrition.

“The development of a technological aid like the Tasty Spoon has the potential to rekindle the pleasure of eating for those facing taste-related challenges and therefore contribute to better health as well as mitigating the expense of treating the side-effects of poor nutrition for the NHS.”

Research engineers at the AMRC are bringing their design skills to help create a prototype of the rechargeable eating aid, with engineers working with the

Marcus Crossley, senior project manager at the AMRC, said the engineers are very excited to be working in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Society and Management School.

He added: “Working closely with people living with dementia will enable us to evaluate and refine functional and inclusivity aspects of the aid, with the goal of enhancing people’s quality of life.”

Simon Lord, head of innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “We’re excited about the possibility Tasty Spoon presents in improving the taste and enjoyment of food and subsequently improving the health and nutrition of people living with dementia.

“Innovations like this are vital as they focus on enriching daily experiences and improving health and well-being.

The Alzheimer's Society’s Accelerator Programme is dedicated to funding tech-based solutions such as Tasty Spoon, reaffirming our commitment to improving lives through innovative new products. Tasty Spoon is a unique product, and we cannot wait to help get it into the hands of people living with dementia.”