When you think of hands-free devices, you might think of Alexa or other voice-activated home assistants, Bluetooth earbuds, or calling Siri in your car. You might not imagine using your mouth to communicate remotely with other devices such as computers or phones.
Researchers at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Aarhus University are thinking outside the box to create orthodontic appliances that can be manufactured with sensors and feedback components to capture interactions and data in the mouth. We have developed “MouthIO”. This interactive wearable could ultimately help dentists and other doctors collect health data and allow people with mobility impairments to use their mouths to operate phones, computers, or fitness trackers. Possibly.
Similar to an electronic retainer, MouthIO is a see-through orthodontic appliance that fits the specifications of your upper and lower teeth from a scan. The researchers created a plug-in for the modeling software Blender that allows users to calibrate the device to dental scans. This allows designs to be 3D printed in dental resin. This computer-aided design tool allows users to digitally customize the side panels (called PCB housings) to include batteries, sensors (such as temperature and acceleration detectors, and texture sensors), and actuators (such as vibration sensors for feedback). motor and LED). Small electronics can also be placed on individual teeth on the outside of the PCB housing.
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MouthIO: Manufacturing customizable oral user interfaces with integrated sensing and actuation
Video: MIT CSAIL
active mouth
“The mouth is a very interesting site for interactive wearables, potentially opening up many opportunities, but largely unexplored due to its complexity,” said former CSAIL postdoc and senior author of the paper on MouthIO. said Michael Wessely. Currently an assistant professor at Aarhus University. “The complex geometry of this compact, humid environment makes it difficult to build wearable interfaces that sit within it. Dentists and other doctors are enthusiastic about MouthIO because of its potential to track things like teeth grinding and possible bacteria in saliva, providing new health insights. Masu.”
Excitement about MouthIO’s potential in health monitoring stemmed from early experiments. The research team found that by embedding an accelerometer within the brace to track jaw movement, the device could track bruxism (the habit of grinding teeth). When attached to the lower set of teeth, MouthIO detected when the user grinded or clenched their teeth and graphed data showing how often the user did each.
Wessely et al.’s customizable orthosis could one day help users with movement disorders. The team connected a small touchpad to MouthIO to help detect when a user’s tongue taps against their teeth. These interactions are transmitted via Bluetooth and can scroll through web pages. This allows the tongue to act as a “third hand” and opens up new avenues for hands-free interaction.
“MouthIO is a great example of how miniature electronics are making it possible to integrate sensing into a wide range of everyday interactions,” said study co-author and TIBCO Career Development Associate Professor in the MIT School of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering. Stephanie Mueller said. Engineering and HCI engineering group leader at CSAIL. “We are particularly excited about the potential to improve accessibility and track potential health issues in users.”
MouthIO mold making and how to make
To obtain a 3D model of your teeth, we first make a physical impression and fill it with plaster. You can then scan the mold with a mobile app like Polycam and upload it to Blender. The researcher plugin within this program allows you to clean up dental scans to outline accurate orthodontic appliance designs. Finally, the digital creation is 3D printed in clear dental resin and the electronic components are soldered to it. Users can create standard orthodontic appliances that cover the teeth, or choose an “open bite” design within the Blender plugin. The latter fits like an open-finger glove and exposes the tips of the teeth, allowing the user to speak naturally without a lisp.
This “do it yourself” method costs about $15 to make and takes 2 hours to 3D print. MouthIO can also be manufactured using more expensive, professional-grade dental scanners, similar to those used by dentists and orthodontists. This is faster and requires less effort.
Compared to closed types that completely cover the teeth, researchers believe that open bite designs are a more comfortable option. The research team preferred to use this in their beverage monitoring experiments, creating a brace that can alert users when a drink is too hot. This version of MouthIO has a temperature sensor and monitor built into the PCB housing that vibrates when the drink exceeds 65 degrees Celsius (149 degrees Fahrenheit). This may help people with mouth numbness better understand what they are ingesting.
In user research, participants also preferred the open bite version of MouthIO. “We found that our device will be suitable for everyday use in the future,” said study lead author Yijing Zhang, a PhD student at Aarhus University. “The open-bite design allows the tongue to touch the front teeth, resulting in lisping users. This makes it easier for users to wear the device for long periods of time with breaks, similar to using a retainer. I felt comfortable.”
The team’s initial findings indicate that MouthIO is a cost-effective, accessible, and customizable interface, and the team is conducting a longer-term study to further assess its feasibility. I’m working on it. They are considering improving the design, including trying more flexible materials and placing it in other parts of the mouth, such as the cheeks and roof of the mouth. Among these ideas, researchers have already prototyped two new designs for MouthIO. One is a single-sided brace that makes MouthIO even more comfortable to wear while being completely invisible to others, and the other is fully wireless charging and communication.
Jiang, Mueller, and Wessely’s co-authors include doctoral student Julia Kleinau, master’s student Till Max Eckroth, and associate professor Eve Hoggan from Aarhus University. Their research was supported by a grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technologies.
