Have you ever considered getting a tattoo? Perhaps you believe tattoos are just another passing fad were only for sailors, musicians and the incorrigibly hip and do not have the slightest desire to get one. Or maybe you’re of the opinion that getting your body inked provides no utility except attention. Sure they may make a colorful statement, but you can’t see the value of permanently altering skin with an image that you may hate six months after it has been needled onto your flesh.
Well, if you’re diabetic, who regards tattoos as an overrated trend, you may need to reconsider your opinion because the scientists at MIT and Harvard collaborated together to create a tattoo that changes color based on the blood sugar level of the person sporting the ink.
The project is called the Dermal Abyss and it features biosensor tattoos that visibly react to shifts in a person’s metabolism. Although the tattoos won’t be available in your local tattoo shop anytime soon, the intention of the science is to highlight unique possibilities for biosensors, ensuring that it becomes part of the mainstream diabetic culture in the near future.
The tattoo ink acts as a biosensor that reads interstitial fluids – the liquids that surround tissue cells in the body.
Having type 1 or 2 diabetes involves constant blood glucose measurements. The procedure normally involves pricking their finger with a special device that provides enough blood to be placed on a test strip.
The beauty of the tattoo is that blood sugar levels can be determined simply by determining the color of the tat. Once the tattoo sense changes in glucose levels the tattoo changes colors. The ink appears in one of five different shades of blue that determine accurate blood glucose levels.
The dermal abyss team is excited about the far-reaching implications of wearable, biomedical technology, confident that biosensor technology will be a giant step forward in diabetes management.
So, begin now contemplating what you would like your tattoo to look like because the scientists at dermal abyss are working overtime to ensure this new technology reaches the market sooner rather than later.
