Smart mouse guard which can detect dehydration symptoms and physical / mental fatigue

Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center is a research and development company known for being developed by Apple and having great influence on the Macintosh known as "the world's first successful GUI product". Such Palo Alto Research Institute does not only conduct research and development of GUI, but in collaboration with NextFlex and the University of California San Diego which continues to rapidly expand in the field of Flexible Hybrid · Electronics, early signs such as dehydration · fatigue from saliva I am developing a smart mouse guard that can be detected.

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https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/xerox-parc-mouthguard-saliva/

Sensors using electronic plastic foil are adopted as smart mouthguards jointly developed by Palo Alto Research Center, NextFlex, and the University of California San Diego. This electronic plastic foil can be installed in a mouth guard (mouthpiece) used for all kinds of purposes such as exercise and military mission. Sensors using electronic plastic foil can detect lactate and glucose present in human saliva, so it is possible to transmit the analysis result to the smartphone in real time.

David Schwartz, manager of the Electronic Devices and Systems Division at Palo Alto Research Institute, commented, "The electronic scientific sensor system is manufactured from small, flexible plastic foil attached to the mouth guard." Furthermore, "Sensing uses chronoamperometry, which is an electrochemical measurement technique established based on the enzymatic oxidation of the target species, while chronoamperometry has high sensitivity, specificity, analyte It is a method known for having the ability to quantify concentration. "

Since the sensor to be embedded in the mouthguard can be replaced with a sensor capable of detecting other substances such as uric acid, not lactate or glucose, there is room for evolution to a more versatile mouse guard It is considered. Also, the electronic parts are protected from saliva by the encapsulant, and the battery to be the power source can be wirelessly charged, so it is said that the battery and electrode parts can be sealed perfectly.

Jason Marsh, NextFlex's technical director, says that there was a doubt that the user really wears as if someone created a form factor that would fit comfortably in the human mouth? In addition, Palo Alto Research Institute creates a prototype of smart mouse guard, and it is said that NextFlex plays a role of improving it to what can be mass-produced.

Palo Alto Research Center and NextFlex are aiming to commercialize smart mouse guards, and the next step is to develop multiple units for intraoral examination.