Determining the performance of a temperature sensor embedded into a mouthguard

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Sensor Technology
• Oral Health Monitoring

Background:

• Accurate oral temperature measurement is crucial for clinical diagnostics and patient monitoring.
• Existing methods for oral temperature sensing face challenges in achieving consistent and reliable readings.
• Developing embedded sensors in devices like mouthguards offers a novel approach to continuous oral temperature monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the steady-state errors of oral-based temperature sensors integrated into custom-fitted mouthguards.
• To assess the performance of these sensors across a range of physiologically relevant temperatures.
• To determine the time required for the sensors to reach a stable temperature reading.

Main Methods:

• Four electronic boards with temperature sensors were embedded in ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) mouthguards.
• Sensors were tested in a thermostatic water bath at 34°C, 38.5°C, and 43°C to measure error and stabilization time.
• A case study involving a volunteer wearing the instrumented mouthguard was conducted to validate real-world performance.

Main Results:

• Water bath tests demonstrated a mean absolute error of 0.2°C, with steady-state temperatures achieved within 690 seconds across all tested conditions.
• The volunteer case study also showed a mean absolute error of 0.2°C, although the time to reach steady-state was longer, at 1110 seconds.

Conclusions:

• Instrumented mouthguards with embedded temperature sensors can achieve consistent steady-state errors approximating clinical requirements.
• The time-to-steady-state is a critical factor that must be accounted for when interpreting temperature data from these oral sensing systems.
• Further consideration of stabilization times is necessary for the successful clinical application of mouthguard-based temperature monitoring systems.