APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CLASSIFYING A TOBACCO SAMPLE INTO ONE OF A PREDEFINED SET OF TASTE CATEGORIES.

摘要

A method and apparatus are provided for classifying a tobacco sample of a particular tobacco type into one of a predefined set of taste categories for that tobacco type. The method comprises acquiring mass spectrometry data from the tobacco sample; identifying from the acquired mass spectrometry data a plurality of chemical components and their respective content levels within the tobacco sample; and assigning the tobacco sample to one of the predefined set of taste categories for that tobacco type based on the plurality of chemical components and their respective content levels identified within the tobacco sample, using a statistical multivariate regression model that represents a relationship between the chemical components and the taste categories.