The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
| Teeth of truth: researchers study mouth-mounted health sensor Posted: Imagine a tooth-mounted sensor that will spill the beans to doctors and dentists if a patient is being less than honest regarding eating, smoking or drinking. Researchers have developed a mouth-worn sensor that can detect if a patent has been drinking, smoking or coughing. It used to be that loose lips sank ships but, if a group of researchers from the National Taiwan University have their way, the expression will soon have to be modified to cover loose dentures too. The five-strong team at the university's departments of computer science and information engineering and electrical engineering have published a paper detailing their development of a tooth-mounted sensor that will spill the beans to doctors and dentists if a patient is being less than honest regarding eating, smoking or drinking. The device, which measures a mere 4.5mm x 10mm, yet still has space for an accelerometer (just like the one inside a smartphone that automatically rotates the screen from portrait to landscape and enables tilt-to-play gaming) that can accurately tell the difference between drinking, speaking, chewing, smoking and coughing. In laboratory testing with eight participants, it achieved 93.8% accuracy. Though impressive, the research was conducted as a small feasibility study and there are still a number of hurdles to overcome before the sensor becomes a reality. The first and most critical is power source. The team envisage building the senor into false teeth that need to be removed on a daily basis for cleaning and which, like a smartphone, could also be docked and put on charge overnight to top up the battery and to transfer the collected data. Real-time data collection and dissemination would require a version of Bluetooth that is compatible with use inside the body. Also, while it can identify chewing, because the sensor is in a sealed unit, it is unable to recognise what the wearer is chewing or how many calories it contains. Still, this early breakthrough has the researchers excited about the future direction of their study as the paper concludes: "Because the mouth is an opening into human health, this oral sensory system has the potential to enhance ... oral-related healthcare monitoring applications such as dietary tracking." As such, the next version of the sensor will feature wireless communication capabilities and a rechargeable battery, but there's still some way to go before it becomes a standard dental procedure akin to a scrape and polish. However, it is yet another example of how mobile technology, and in particular wearable devices and sensors, are changing the way we live and the positive impact that they could have on healthcare. In a white paper published on July 26, Mobiquity detailed how smartphones are already changing behaviour for the better and could be the key to helping consumers adapt their lifestyles, break old, bad habits and improve their health, while a number of tech experts, including Gary Clayton, chief creative officer at voice recognition firm Nuance, believe that ingested sensors that stream data to mobile devices for medical analysis are well on their way to becoming a reality. During a discussion on the future of wearable technology at VentureBeat MobileBeat on July 10, he said: "My daughter is getting a PhD in biomedical engineering, and they are floating the idea that wearables will be inside us in the next five to 10 years." – AFP Relaxnews |
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