Researchers create tooth-mounted sensor to track food

Researchers have recently created a tooth sensor that can track everything a person eats and what it contains.

The wearable device was created by researchers from Tufts University. The tooth-mounted sensor is placed in a person’s teeth and tracks every bite and what the bite contains. The sensor is set up to wirelessly convey data regarding glucose, salt and alcohol to a mobile device.

The two square millimeter device sticks to the surface of a tooth. When the sensor’s central ‘bioresponsive’ layer changes encounter various chemicals such as salt or ethanol, its electrical properties shift and transmit a different spectrum of radio waves with varying intensity. As per a press release, the researchers believe that this device can be modified to monitor more things including ‘a wide range of nutrients, chemicals and physiological states’.

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As per Futurism, since the device is cheap, it could benefit researchers to track nutrients in a body in a very cheap way. It can also be beneficial for those who want to get their diet in check or those who can’t afford the expensive fitness trackers.

However, it is also suggested that such a device can have negative effects. Mobile calorie and exercise-tracking apps let people obsess over their ever meal down to macronutrients, and this can worsen OCD and eating disorders. The sensor won’t give eating disorders but can worsen them for people who already suffer from these disorders.

The research is soon to be published in the journal Advanced Materials, as per Science Daily.