A lab in your pocket

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Nima finally arrives in France. A discreet system that makes it possible to check the absence of peanuts in one of your foods. Fast, it analyzes any food sample in less than two minutes. It is a real small portable chemical laboratory.

Mark : Nima

Availability: From now on their awning

Application : Nima, The portable food sensor

includes: Battery cable, pouch, the Nima sensor

Price: 180.99 € (without the capsules)

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc1jmEogQv0 (/ embed)

More and more varied food products contain a lot of allergens. And the allergic people in all this, how do they meet? We announced it in 2015, Nima had already done well about her at the time with her Gluten Detector. Today, we are talking about his peanut detector. This is the revolutionary solution that Nima offers.

After the collar to fight against allergies, the Nima peanut detector allows you to analyze at any time a dish, a pastry or an industrial preparation. Unlike gluten allergy, Peanut intolerance affects many people. It is imperative to be constantly on the alert when suffering from such a pathology. So instead of being suspicious, depriving oneself or simply forgetting the idea of ​​going to the restaurant we anticipate.

Only one small sample is enough for Nima to give a positive or negative answer. This small pocket lab is not for all budgets, but it has the merit of being useful. In addition, Nima offers a free application. Users share their experiences, give us the names of restaurants that serve peanut-free dishes. No need to have a Nima to consult his information, it is open to all. It remains to be seen if this health accessory works well.

At your fork, we track down all traces of peanut.

Unboxing of the Nima Sensor

The Nima peanut detector comes in a small square white box. The packaging is sober. He wears a picture of the Nima, held by one hand. We can see in the background a table on which are placed several dishes.

Everything is written in English on the packaging we have. On the top, a sentence "Detect peanut in your food anytime, anywhere". It says below this sentence, it is the Peanut Sensor or Peanut Detector and not the Gluten Detector.

Bottom left, always on the front of the packaging, we find this small purple logo in the shape of a triangle. He will follow us throughout this Review. He says here that peanut Review capsules are essential for using Nima.

Below, we recall the name of the product which is accompanied by some adjectives: easy to use, fast, responsive, portable and smart health connected. The address of the website is also mentioned: nimasensor.com

In very small, downstairs, warnings. Nima reminds us that the peanut detector is reliable only on the sample we gave it and not on the entire dish. "It's important to always use your normal precautions at the same time as your Nima sensor. Make sure you always call ahead of time at any facility where you go to find out about your allergies, talk to the waiting staff and make them aware of your allergy, read the labels, and always have your allergy medications with you. " A useful reminder, but very discreet on the packaging.

On the top, small icons tell us a little more about this product. A smiley tells us that this peanut detector is easy to use. Just put the sample in the disposable capsule and squeeze. The detector can find peanut in samples at parts-per-million level (a scientific term that we will discuss later). A laptop means that an application allows us to know which food is good for us and share our results with everyone. A clock indicates the speed of analysis of Nima. This peanut detector is also above all a portable object, which by its size and weight is easily transportable.

Finally, several useful information. Nima can analyze many samples but for a complete list, the brand invites us to visit the site: nimasensor.com/peanut/manual. For the third time, and it will not be the last, Nima reminds us that disposable capsules are sold separately and that to buy them, you have to go to Shop.nimasensor.com. To open the box, we use the two small purple notches in the shape of a triangle.

We end up with a small purple drawer. Inside, a black plastic bottom that contains the micro-USB cable. He is carefully wrapped with two black elastics. Raising this background, we discover a small black cloth pouch decorated with the logo of Nima, the famous yellow heart that is transformed into a symbol of infinity. It is carefully folded thanks to a transparent ribbon. Once unpacked accessories we finally discover the famous peanut detector.

Design and Ergonomics of Nima at the service of science

The Nima peanut detector is a product with a simple design. It's rather surprising when you think about what he can do. We have in front of us a small black triangle of 9 cm of side and 2.5 cm of thickness. inside this product, the chemistry team of Nima has developed a pair of specific antibodies for the detection of peanuts.

The peanut-free food industry is growing. We can now find everything: bread, pasta, cooked dishes without these components that we indisposed. Yet for the intolerant, being able to Review food safely is less stress.

There are many chemical tests already available such as Glutentox health home or Foodconfirm Gluten. However their use is often complicated and not really fast. This is usually a strip to dip into the food. Then you have to wait about twenty minutes to hope for a result. This is not ideal when you are at a restaurant or at a friend's house. Ditto for the SCiO and DietSensor application that they are not accurate enough to ensure the safety of their users. It is with this observation that a group of Gluten intolerant decided to transform all this and innovate in the field.

This is where the design and ergonomics of the product make perfect sense. It needed a product that was easy to transport and quick to use. The disadvantage is that it requires capsules to work and that they can not be reused. The Nima peanut detector, recharges very easily thanks to a micro USB cable. You can see the battery level at any time on the small screen.

A mini mobile laboratory

Before tackling the grip, we had to better understand what is happening inside this little triangle. So we will try to explain some of the scientific terms you will meet if you walk around their site. The chemistry of the antibodies of Nima was developed by MIT scientists to be faster, cheaper and usable directly at the table. Nima is optimized to detect 10 parts per million of peanut protein and more.

"Parts per million" or ppm, what is it?

This measurement is the mass of a chemical or contaminant per unit volume of water. One ppm equals the absolute fractional quantity multiplied by one million. For simplicity, this science makes it possible to detect up to a millionth of peanut or gluten. For example, we put four drops of ink in 200L of water, we mix everything. This procedure would produce an ink concentration of 1 ppm, and thanks to the Nima we would be able to detect it.

(Embed) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa-m8a-jZ0k (/ embed)

How it works ?

Each Nima capsule contains a Review strip soaked with antibodies. If there is peanut in the Review food, the antibodies bind to the protein and show a signal change on the band that is detected by the Nima electronic and processing algorithm.

Liquid extraction buffer

When a certain protein is present in food, the protein molecules are trapped inside the other food molecules that surround them. Only to Review them, you have to isolate them. This is where the extraction buffer solution comes into play. To popularize this process, Nima has found a way to break the links between protein and other molecules. This allows the band to react and therefore inform us of the presence of peanut or not.

Mechanism of grinding and mixing

This is the final phase. On refills the capsule, and when screwing the cap, it grinds the food into tiny particles until all foods are exposed to the famous extraction buffer solution.

Inside the Nima there is a small motor that will take care of mixing all that in the capsule. A bit like a pastry recipe, once the mixture is homogeneous, the solution will pass on the Review strip soaked with antibodies. It is at this moment that chemistry operates.

To be sure of his process, Nima has done thousands of tests on a lot of different foods. And she was not alone, she used other labs to compare her results:

Getting started with the Nima peanut detector

Let's move on to practice now. From now on we know more about this technology, but does it really adapt to our daily life? We tested the Nima peanut detector with a biscuit coated with chocolate. First of all you have to bring your peanut detector and then a capsule. Simply unscrew the cap, put a small piece of biscuit for example and then close the cap. Turn it to hear a "click", then continue again, so that the food sample is properly ground.

Once all that is done, insert the capsule into the Nima and press the central button. The screen will show " Testing for Peanut "then a kind of sun will appear. From there, you will have nothing to do. The Review takes about 5 minutes to tell you if the food in question contains peanuts. A small loading bar appears at the bottom of the screen to inform you of the progress of the analysis. If your dish does not contain the allergen, a small smiley will appear, if there is peanut, a peanut symbol will be displayed. A very simple Review, no manual needed to use it.

Nima also offers a Gluten Detector. The object is similar, the color code is different, the purple will be replaced by blue. For disposable capsules it will be necessary to bring also the blue ones. It will be the same principle, a food sample and the analysis will take so much time. If there is Gluten a little ear of wheat will appear, if there is not, again a smiley. This Review is positive but remember that its price is very high, the detector Nima and 12 capsules costs 214 €.

The Nima app

In order to pair your mobile phone with your Nima, you have to download the Nima app. The health home screen is a map of the city where you are, here Paris. Different small triangles are scattered. Gray means no tests have been done, Purples are those for peanuts, Greens are for Gluten.

By clicking on one of these triangles you will see the name of the restaurant where the Review was done, the number of tests, and the allergen control success rate. Then you have the option to click on this banner. Right here you will be able to consult the tests, the name of the person who did it and the dish that he ordered. You will even have access to the phone, the site and the restaurant's opening hours.

This interactive map is well done, gives a lot of information about where the Review was conducted. In addition, you can ban or adopt the dishes tested according to the result. It saves time while being fun. These are just the beginnings of this product on the French market, so necessarily the number of results is quite low. Note, however, that this application is accessible to all and does not require the possession of Nima.

If the map does not enchant you you have the possibility, thanks to a tab at the top right to display only the list of restaurants. Or simply to start a search. Other tabs are available from the health home page.

With the "Packaged" feature, you can search for or submit your own tests on industrial food products. No restaurants here but crisps, cakes, ice cream or prepared dishes. You even have access to big brands and some of their products. For the moment it is only American supermarkets. We will have a clearer opinion when the reviews and tests will abound in France. For the moment we have a rather limited vision, even if this application is very promising.

Competition

Nima is not the first to have launched a peanut detector. These molecules are the pet peeve of allergic consumers. Treatments exist and one can spend one's life looking at the composition of each food. Yet doubt remains especially with manufactured products. That's why we've always found detectors to avoid an error that could lead to complications. There are few in the Nima genre. Most of these sensors are a little bulky or slow.

The Sopac Disp & flow Review

Unlike Nima, this is a conventional strip method. It can analyze a solid and liquid product.

Romerlabs AgraStrip Kit

Same strip principle that analyzes your food in 11 minutes. These kits are provided ready to use and contain strips, incubation tubes coated with the antibody, extraction tubes, extraction buffer, surface swabs and additional accessories.

SCiO: science fiction at your fingertips

A little different but deserves to be addressed. It is a scanner that gives you instant information about the chemical composition of objects or food directly on your smartphone. See the nutritional values ​​of dairy products, fish, fruits and vegetables. It feels like a great power, it's fun and educational.

The DietSensor app (in another genre)

This application is not a detector but it still has its usefulness, in addition. It has been voted the most innovative application in the world at the CES in 2016. Follow their physical activity and water consumption, relearn how to eat, or dictate their meals. It can also give you the composition of what you eat. Obviously it will never be as precise as Nima, besides it does not have the will.

Conclusion

Nima is a very useful item for those allergic to Gluten or Peanut. The application is very well done and interactive, moreover it is free and accessible to all. It remains to be seen if with more tests in France on the interactive map, it is really useful. The application is still in its infancy, we can not wait to see what happens.

The price is excessive, not everyone can afford it and it's a shame. The product is very interesting and useful but its cost is really crippling. Especially when we think that Capsules can only be used once and are sold separately.

Good points

• Fast

• Reliable

• Free and useful application

• Intuitive

Negative points

• Very expensive

• Capsules sold separately and for single use

Design and Ergonomics – 8.5

The application – 8

In the face of competition – 8

Value for Money – 3.5

7

Design and Ergonomics : The Nima is very light and holds in the hand. The color code and the small icons used are aesthetic and practical

The application : The application is well done, and intuitive. It offers many benefits while being free. You can use it without having a peanut or gluten detector.

Against competition : this peanut detector really brings something innovative in this market. Fast, efficient and intuitive it can be carried everywhere. A real revolution smart health connected.

Value for money : This product is extremely expensive and it's a shame. In addition, the capsules necessary for the proper functioning of Nima are for single use and sold separately at a very high price.

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