Smile at the sensor and instantly the smartphone explains what you just ate.
This becomes a reality with a newly developed sensor that measures the amount of special substances that we don’t want to eat too much of, such as sugar, salt and alcohol.
The sensor is developed by researchers at Tufts University in the USA. It is 2 mm2 and will be placed on a tooth. The sensor is made like a clam, where the middle layer is made of material that absorbs substances from saliva. Gold frames are on the outside and inside of this fabric.
Does not need electricity
No electronics are built in, so the sensor does not need power to operate. To read it, radio waves are sent to it and their echoes are recorded.
If the material in the sensor has, for example, ingested salt, the radio waves are reflected differently than if there was no salt in the mouth.
The gold frame acts as a sort of echo device, amplifying the waves. Patterns in the repeater are read in a special sensor and the results can, for example, be forwarded to the smartphone.
The scientists emphasize two advantages of this invention:
Adjust to you
It is simple, small and easy to install without causing any discomfort and in addition it is flexible.
The sensor itself in the middle can be different and specialized to absorb certain substances, so the sensor can be adapted to the needs of each individual.
About 6000
is the number of taste buds we have on our tongue. Each taste bud has 5-18 taste cells, which are involved in detecting taste.
