A sensor embedded in your tooth could tell doctors if you have defied medical advice to give up smoking or to eat less!
Built into a tiny circuit board, the sensor includes an accelerometer that transmits data to a smartphone. So from each tell-tale jaw motion pattern, the software can work out how much chewing, teeth grinding, smoking, coughing, talking or (…okay I’ll stop there!) that you are doing.
The device can be fitted into dentures or a dental brace, and the team at the National Taiwan University in Taipei plan to miniaturise it further to fit into a cavity or crown. Results so far look promising, with the system having recognised ‘oral activities’ correctly 94 per cent of the time in tests to date. New Scientist and IEEE Spectrum have both covered the story. Paper: Sensor-Embedded Teeth for Oral Activity Recognition
It kind of takes ‘wearables’ into a whole new sphere! Don’t you think?
Editor Donna addendum 2 August: We are refreshing Contributing Editor Toni Bunting’s story originally posted 26 July (original story and comments here), and moving it up as current. Once again TTA’s fresh set of Eagle Eyes have broken stories ahead of the competition, now twice in two weeks: first Charles Lowe with the O2 withdrawal (now up to 41 comments!) on 23 July and now this story.* While TTA will never be the spot for breaking news on a regular basis, when we see something, we will say something (to quote the NYPD). Our team of Editors will continue to interpret trends, cast the occasional Gimlet Eye or Blue Blaze in amazement at the direction some item is taking–and letting you know about it.
In Founder Steve’s words:
We make no apology for being independent and opinionated or for trying to be interesting rather than comprehensive.
* Oh yes. Mobihealthnews just featured this dental sensor in an article dated 30 July (but they beat us to the Quantified Tooth), and got around to O2 on 29 July (see our Australia-based Contributing Editor George Margelis’ comments). We appreciate that UK and international is not their focus, plus we have benefited and cited from their timely coverage more times than I can cite….but a dapper hat tip would have been appreciated!
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