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This mouthguard will analyze spit to monitor health in the heat

smrt mouthguard analyzes spit warns dehydration mouth app ipad mock up
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Usually being told you have a smart mouth is a bad thing. Since the invention of the SMRT Mouth mouthguard, that’s no longer (necessarily) true.

Digital Trends has already taken a look at a mouthguard that takes a different angle on the protections most people are already familiar with by the analyzing impacts it protects from. SMRT Mouth takes a different route by reading the wearers saliva for signs of dehydration.

You might think that’s not a very important metric, but 42 middle and high school students have died due to heat-related injuries since 1995, along with eight NFL players. In theory, these were all easily preventable tragedies. Former Pro-Bowler Mike Robinson of the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks noted the benefits of the tech and signed on to be the company president.

SMRT Mouth’s electrochemical transducer tech can read antibodies, enzymes, and nucleic acids and use them as health biomarkers. The data is then sent to mobile devices locally, though there are plans for on-board storage. The projected battery life is about three hours, though the plan is to increase that as development continues.

SMRT Mouth Multi Layer
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The SMRT Mouth’s associated program will offer multiple logins, making it perfect for team management. It’ll allow users to organize and archive performance data for individuals or the whole team. The app is being developed for both iOS and Android.

This is all in the future at the moment, however. For now, SMRT Mouth is just getting started, but they do have some serious backers. Reggie Williams of the San Antonio Spurs signed on as an investor. The company has an exclusive partnership with Dr. Lee Gause, one of the foremost dentists in New York, and IceBerg Guards, the elite custom mouthguard company.

The company expects to launch the first iteration of the SMRT Mouth at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2016.

Aliya Barnwell
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Aliya Tyus-Barnwell is a writer, cyclist and gamer with an interest in technology. Also a fantasy fan, she's had fiction…
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