Tongue device taken to national competition

A team of inventive undergraduate students headed to New York City last week to compete at the annual Collegiate Inventors Competition, sponsored by the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

The students took with them a tongue-toning device they designed that could help the 15 million adults who have health problems related to swallowing.

The students, part of the biomedical engineering department, accepted the challenge of JoAnne Robbins, a UW–Madison medical professor and associate director of the Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center at Madison’s veterans hospital, to create a state-of-the-art device that’s both diagnostic and therapeutic.

As people age, the strength of their mouth muscles deteriorates, which can lead to swallowing problems, which in turn can lead to pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration. But exercise can rebuild strength and muscle mass, says Robbins.

Compared to other devices on the market, the students’ invention makes it easier to exercise and take accurate measurements using a mouth guard with sensors that send data for digital readout.While the readout is mainly for medical staff, accompanying audio cues can help patients recognize when they’ve reached a particular goal, says Angela Hewitt of Chetek, Wis., one of the student inventors.

Among the other student collaborators are Christine Koranda of New Berlin, Wis., Aaron Kroner of Kimberly, Wis., and David Meister of Madison.

“Working effectively and creatively as a team, the students drew on the strengths of each team member to produce a practical working prototype,” says David Beebe, a biomedical engineering professor and the student group’s adviser.

While current technologies cost upwards of $1,100, the students spent just $240 on their prototype. Given its simplicity, the students’ system could find applications in a number of areas, such as addressing sleep disorders, says Robbins. “If you start looking at this device or this whole method, I think it could have a very big impact on the health-care field,” she says.

The UW–Madison team was one of only 16 chosen from more than 900 entries to compete nationally. Although the team did not win the competition Nov. 19, its device is well on its way; they have applied for a patent through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.