Interactive mouthpiece developed by researchers
They say it opens new opportunities for the collection of health data, assistive technology and hands-free interactions.
Researchers have created a dental brace which combines sensors and components to capture in-mouth interactions and data.
The team from the MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Aarhus University believe that the device could potentially assist dentists and doctors in collecting health data.
They said it could also help motor-impaired people interact with a phone, computer or fitness tracker using their mouths.
The mouth is a really interesting place for an interactive wearable and can open up many opportunities.
Michael Wessely
“The mouth is a really interesting place for an interactive wearable and can open up many opportunities, but has remained largely unexplored due to its complexity,” said Michael Wessely, senior author of a paper about the device.
“This compact, humid environment has elaborate geometries, making it hard to build a wearable interface to place inside.
“With MouthIO, though, we’ve developed a new kind of device that’s comfortable, safe, and almost invisible to others. Dentists and doctors are eager about MouthIO for its potential to provide new health insights, tracking things like teeth grinding and potentially bacteria in your saliva.”
One potential drawback, however, is that the researchers appear to suggest a do-it-yourself option, in which people create their own physical impression from which the brace is created.
They describe MouthIO as “an in-mouth device that users can digitally design and 3D print with integrated sensors and actuators to capture health data and interact with a computer or phone.”
Given the case of SmileDirectClub, probably not a good path to follow.
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