[Telemetric system for measuring the pressure of the tongue on the palate]

The development of the upper jaw during growth is influenced by the function and position of the tongue and perioral soft tissues, and the pressures exerted by them. Accurate determination of the forces exerted by the tongue would provide relevant information about this influence. To date, our ability to obtain continuous recordings of the tongue pressure during certain functions is limited. In this paper, an easy-to-employ and accurate telemetric system for such functional measurements is presented. The system, consisting of four piezoresistive pressure sensors, a microcontroller, a telemetric module and batteries, is integrated within a removable orthodontic plate and transmits the measured data out of the oral cavity to a receiver.