‘Dr Toothbrush’ spots heart trouble
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- Published: Wednesday, 24 January 2018 07:38
- Written by News Editor
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People with heart problems could be prompted to adjust their medication by the toothbrush. A smart toothbrush that can spot signs of deadly heart problems in saliva is being developed by scientists. Spanish researchers believe a toothbrush that monitors vital signs will be a simple way to incorporate checks into patients’ daily routines.
People with heart problems could be prompted to adjust their medication by the toothbrush. The same team has developed a shirt that monitors vital signs and says that a technological revolution will increasingly incorporate everyday objects into treatment.
About half a million people in Britain have heart failure, which becomes more common with age and can result from damage to muscle tissue caused by a heart attack. The condition leads to a build-up of fluid and researchers at Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid believe that sodium levels in saliva could give an early warning of problems. They are also testing how well a toothbrush can monitor blood pressure and oxygen levels.
“With a little information about their heart rate, pressure and some biological samples from saliva, it is possible to execute some minor corrections that should help the patient to be as [healthy] as possible,” Alvaro Marco, a cardiologist, said. He said that the toothbrush could help patients to do this themselves rather than wait for medical reviews. “If we see that our patients are in a high heart rate or pressure, we adjust the therapy according to it,” he said.
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