RFID-enabled Tooth Transmits Sensor Data About Diet

Researchers at Tufts University's School of Engineering have developed an RF system that captures sensor data and transmits it to a reader from a unique environment: a person's mouth. The passive RFID tag is designed to be attached to a tooth, with a layer of built-in sensors that respond to such conditions as the presence of sugar or sodium, as a person enjoys a meal or snack. Tag transmissions are sent via 400 MHz RFID to an interrogator, and are then modified according to those conditions. The technology can identify not only the intake of specific nutrients or chemicals, the team reports, but also the body's response to that intake, based on changes to a person's saliva.