Using ultrasound to characterize the tongue-food interface: An in vitro study examining the impact of surface roughness and lubrication

Abstract

We measured the apparent reflection coefficient of a 1-MHz ultrasound compressional wave at the interface between rough and lubricated tongue mimicking surfaces and various food gels, composed of agar or gelatin. For the smoothest mimicking surface, when a lubricating layer was present, the apparent reflection coefficient was fairly similar for the different food gels (33.6% on average). The apparent reflection coefficient was significantly larger in the following situations: (i) tongue asperities were high and dense; (ii) lubrication levels were low; and (iii) gels were less rigid (range for the different gels—45.9–84.3%). The apparent reflection coefficient conveys the ability of food gels to mold themselves to surface asperities or to form a coupling film of liquid at the interface. This study demonstrates that ultrasound methods can and should be used to explore the physical phenomena that underlie the texture perceptions resulting from tongue-palate interactions.