What it does
Imagine if our devices were able to tell when it was an exact moment to visit a doctor. Toothbrush which determine the onset of diseases such as lung cancer and diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, inflammatory lung disease.
Your inspiration
Toothbrush is just a small piece of our reality, but we can’t even imagine our life without it. That’s why I’m interested in adding something more to such a tiny element of our everyday live. Toothbrush which is able to pick up the blood from saliva and expired air while brushing your teeth and to monitor humans health.
How it works
An electrochemical sensor for analyzing saliva and exhaled air is integrated into the replaceable electric toothbrush attachment. The sensor responds selectively to changes in the concentration of ions and organic molecules. Every day during tooth brushing, the device performs monitoring to determine the onset of diseases such as lung cancer and diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, inflammatory lung disease. The sensor data is processed by using the Bluetooth chip built into the toothbrush. In this way, our device is compatible with all smartphones without any specialized hardware. The chip contains a configurable potentiostat, which communicates with the user via a developed mobile application with a friendly and minimalist interface. The toothbrush also has a "smart notification", which proms the user to run the app.
Design process
This project began with my collaboration with the chemical laboratory SCAMT in the ITMO university. Scientists introduced me to the idea of chemical sensors that detect changes in our health. This inspired me to combine their invention with a simple object of our daily life - a toothbrush. I was then able to choose the exact sensors required for my invention. The potentiostat that is used to analyse human saliva and to transfer the data acquired onto a mobile phone was developed by a coauthor of this work - ITMO student Artemy Zenkin. While working on the model of my product I created two prototype iterations. I payed specific attention to the ergonomics of the toothbrush handle, the easiness with which the toothbrush head is changed and the correctness of the sample collection. The main difference between the final prototype and the first version is in the way that the sample is collected. Exhaled air is condensed after coming in contact with a metal plate. The condensed air then enters the toothbrush head and reacts with the chemical sensors within it. This prevents the air sample from being contaminated by the surroundings. The prototypes were 3D printed. I also created a model of a phone app that simplifies the process of data analysis
How it is different
My project stands out from other projects with chemical sensors involved, because it could be easily integrated into our daily life and doesn’t require any extra manipulations. At the same time it makes the health care process easier and allows one to detect an onset of a serious disease. The source of my inspiration for this project came through the realization of how difficult it is to find time to get tested. Also I believe that my project can significantly improve the quality of life for people within certain risk groups.
Future plans
My next step in this project would be the creation of a working prototype. I would also make sure that the working system is stable. I would then proceed to creating a working phone app and improving the ergonomics of the cleansing part of the toothbrush.
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