While it's important for all of us to stay hydrated, it's particularly important for athletes. If they don't, their performance may suffer, plus they could collapse or even die. That's why a Virginia-based startup has created SMRT Mouth. It's a protective mouthguard that measures the wearer's hydration levels, and wirelessly alerts coaches if they're getting too low.
Along with providing tooth protection, SMRT (Sports Monitoring Responsive Technology) Mouth contains sensors that measure the osmolality of the user's saliva – osmolality is essentially the number of dissolved particles per unit of water in serum. The higher the number of particles per unit, the less water is present, as the particles are becoming more concentrated.
Should those readings reach a predetermined threshold, SMRT Mouth uses its Bluetooth module to send an alert to an app on a coach or parent's mobile device. They can then call the player in, and get them to rehydrate.
The device additionally contains a heart-rate monitor and an accelerometer, allowing it to also track pulse and exertion. These parameters are likewise sent to the app, letting users monitor the athlete's performance over time. The app can report on numerous mouthguards simultaneously.
SMRT Mouth is currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign, where a pledge of US$99 will get you one, when and if they reach production. That's half of the estimated retail price.
And should you be interested in an athletic mouthguard that wirelessly provides concussion alerts – well, that would be the FITGuard.
Sources: SMRT Mouth, Indiegogo