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A research team recently wanted to learn more about what is constantly happening in a person’s mouth.
As a result, National Taiwan University researchers built a sensor that can be embedded in a tooth or attached to a tooth. The sensor is small enough to fit inside an artificial tooth or it can straddle a real one.
With tiny wire located inside the sensor, the sensor has the ability to provide data to a computer. The research team claims that wireless sensors will be created in the future thanks to Bluetooth.
The sensor was unveiled at the International Symposium on Wearable Computers in Switzerland.
The idea for building the device was based on the fact that most oral activities generate some kind of motion that could be considered unique.
The research team had eight volunteers wear the sensor during various activities to see if the sensor could be effective. After this was done, the volunteers repeated their actions to see if the computer could tell each person apart. The computer was accurate in distinguishing the people in 93.8 percent of the cases. The number dipped to 59.8 percent when utilizing a person-independent classifier.
The information could be valuable because of the details provided in the areas of teeth grinding, eating and many other oral processes.
The sensor builders had to take safety into consideration. All electronic parts had to be sealed and it was necessary to make sure the sensor would pass through the body without causing any harm if it was swallowed.
Work on the sensor will be ongoing. If the sensors become even more advanced, the sensors could one day become a staple of dental treatment.
