Researchers have created a wearable tooth sensor for diet monitoring in hopes that it may one day assist in various health and diet-related studies. The tiny sensor is wireless and is capable of monitoring intake of salt, alcohol, and glucose, and then collecting that data to be used for research revolving around health and what happens with the body during the intake of certain things, as well as happens in and around the body after the fact.
The sensors capture information in real-time and though the image paints a pretty good picture of how small the sensors actually are, researchers from Tufts University School of Engineering have stated that the sensors measure a mere 2mm by 2mm, so they aren’t going to take up a lot of space like other similar sensors developed by the groups for the same purposes. The sensors should also be able to last quite a while without rapid degradation, which was a pretty big issue for past devices of this manner. Its makeup in terms of the material and its flexible nature also make it perfect for the “irregular surface” of teeth as it can more easily conform to the inconsistencies across different teeth and teeth from different people.
For now this is just research as the sensors won’t be available commercially and have not shifted into any sort of production phases, but the work is exciting nonetheless, as the sensors could be a solution to issues that health and diet researchers have been trying to come to for quite some time. Better still, is that it’s possible for future versions of these sensors to expand on the types of nutrients they scan through intake which could open up even more possibilities for measuring health-related data. Not just nutrients either, but also different chemicals and physiological states, so in theory these could do a lot more than what they’re capable of doing now.