Stress can take a toll on people in ways we don’t immediately notice. Swiss startup Nutrix AG hopes a simple saliva test that can be done at home will help people better understand how stressed they really are and tools to manage it. There is. At CES 2025, Nutrix showed off its cortiSense device, which can be used to measure cortisol levels in saliva and track how this changes over time. The company plans to launch the service by the end of the year and will work with its gSense app and digital platforms to offer things like personalized wellness coaching from medical teams.
It is intended to be an easy, non-invasive way to identify and address burnout. However, are there any parts that are a bit suspended? Nutrix CEO Maria Hahn said in a press release that the company is focused on “empowering businesses,” adding that employee burnout “has enormous human and economic costs. He pointed out that this could become a serious issue. Therefore, I think it is necessary to control stress in order to have a more effective delivery.
I wasn’t able to try it in my mouth (I asked), but the Nutrix team says it takes about 3 to 5 minutes to complete a reading. The device looks like an e-cigarette and uses a disposable tab with a sensor to measure cortisol. “We get quantitative information on salivary cortisol,” which is “sent to a digital health platform and combined with other data such as activity monitoring, blood sugar levels, etc.” [and] ” said Dr. Jemish Parmar, co-founder and CTO of Nutrix, at the Unveiled event at CES. It is necessary to measure 4 times a day.
The company hasn’t disclosed pricing information, but the team says it will be offered as part of a subscription program that includes cortiSense devices, disposable sensors, and a digital health platform. According to data and software lead Dr. Dominika Sulot, the gSense platform has so far provided guidance on weight loss, but will soon offer mental health services as well. “Once you have all the data, it’s time to schedule an appointment with the next person. [the medical team] Then they can give you a tailored plan,” says Sulot.
For personal use, this kind of thing can be great if it works as described, especially if it connects users with physical and mental health support. But I don’t like the emphasis on enterprise applications to “develop a healthier, more productive workforce,” as the press release says. In fact, I might have vomited a little in my mouth while writing this. What does cortiSense detect in it?
