Spit on this stick and see how hot you burn

Stress can negatively affect a person, often in ways we are not immediately aware of. Swiss startup Nutrix AG hopes a quick at-home spit test will help, by giving people a better idea of ​​how stressed they really are and the tools needed to deal with it. At CES 2025, Nutrix showed off its cortiSense device, which measures cortisol levels in saliva and can be used to track how that changes over time. The startup plans to launch by the end of the year, and will work with the gSense app and digital platform to offer things like personalized health coaching from a medical team.

It’s meant to be an easy, non-invasive way to identify and combat burnout. The part that’s a little mite, though? In a press release, Nutrix CEO Maria Hahn said the company is focused on “empowering organizations,” noting that employee burnout can be a “huge challenge with huge human and financial cost.” So, I believe you can control your stress to perform labor better.

I wasn’t able to put one in my mouth and try it (I asked for it), but the Nutrix team says the reading should take about 3-5 minutes to complete. The device, which looks like an e-cigarette, uses disposable tabs that contain a sensor to measure cortisol. “You’re getting quantitative information about cortisol in saliva, which is then transferred to a digital health platform to combine with other data, such as activity monitoring, glucose (and) weight,” said Nutrix co-founder and CTO Dr. Hans. Jimesh Parmar at the CES unveiling event. You are supposed to take four measurements per day.

The company didn’t share pricing information, but the team says it will be offered as part of a subscription program that includes the cortiSense device, single-use sensors, and a digital health platform. The gSense platform so far offers weight loss guidance, but will soon offer mental health services as well, according to Dr. Dominica Solot, data and software manager. “Once you have all the data, you can schedule an appointment with (the medical team) and then they give you the personalized plan,” Solot says.

For personal use, this kind of thing could be great if it worked as stated, especially if it would connect users with physical and mental health support. But I don’t like the focus on enterprise applications that, according to the press release, “foster a healthier, more productive workforce.” In fact, I probably threw up in my mouth a little while writing that. I wonder what cortiSense will find out about that.