Mouth guard sensor monitors saliva for signs of illness and stress

The proof-of-concept technology monitors health markers including lactate, cortisol and uric acid and could be used to non-invasively monitor patients, or provide indications of stress levels in soldiers and pilots. The research is detailed in a paper published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics.

“The ability to monitor continuously and non-invasively saliva biomarkers holds considerable promise for many biomedical and fitness applications,” said Joseph Wang, a nanoengineering professor who led the research with electrical engineering professor Patrick Mercier.

In a study to test the sensors, engineers focused on uric acid, which is a marker related to diabetes and gout. Currently, the only way to monitor the levels of uric acid in a patient is to draw blood.

To test the mouth guard, researchers collected saliva samples from healthy volunteers and spread them on the sensor, which produced readings in a normal range.

Next, they collected saliva from a patient who suffers from hyperuricemia, a condition characterized by an excess of uric acid in the blood. The sensor detected more than four times as much uric acid in the patient’s saliva than in the healthy volunteers.