This tiny chip is being used to develop a tooth-mounted sensor that can read your spit

Miniaturizing tech is a perpetual problem for wearable makers. The smaller the machine, the higher it is for wearability. The factor is, that often comes on the expense of battery life. However, Silicon Labs is hoping its newest xG27 chipset is small and energy-efficient sufficient to spark some huge concepts within the medical tech area — like a saliva reader that’s so tiny it can be mounted onto a tooth.

According to Silicon Labs, the xG27 household of SoCs consists of the BG27 and the MG27. Both are constructed across the ARM Cortex M33 processor, however the BG27 focuses on Bluetooth, whereas the MG27 helps Zigbee and different protocols. As for the way small these chips are, the xG27 SoCs vary from 2mm-squared to 5mm-squared — roughly the width of a No. 2 pencil’s lead tip to the width of the pencil itself. It’s not the world’s smallest Bluetooth chip, however Silicon Labs spokesperson Sam Ponedal tells The Verge that’s solely by “fractions of a millimeter.”

This is neat from a technical perspective, however what’s cooler is the BG27 is at the moment being used to develop an precise product — the aforementioned tooth-mounted wearable sensor. Lura Health, a medical machine maker, says it’s utilizing the chip for its “salivary diagnostic sensor.” The sensor is sufficiently small to be glued to a molar (or positioned inside a “smart retainer”) with the intent of frequently monitoring a affected person’s saliva. That, in flip, would permit dentists and clinicians to doubtlessly take a look at for greater than 1,000 well being situations.

This wouldn’t be the primary time that a firm has pitched this type of futuristic well being tech. But whereas most makes an attempt are thwarted by the FDA regulatory course of, Lura Health claims it has simply completed medical trials for the sensor with UConn Orthodontics and is at the moment making ready to endure the FDA regulatory course of. If all goes nicely, the product may hit the market in 12-18 months.

As for different use circumstances, Silicon Labs says its chips are good candidates for medical patches, steady glucose displays, and wearable EKGs. That’s as a result of they can function on as little as 0.8 volts and can swap to a “shelf mode” that reduces vitality use throughout transportation and whereas saved on cabinets. These options aren’t fairly as interesting in shopper wearables, nevertheless it opens the door for better wearable use in hospitals and medical settings.