Digital tattoos designed by nanoengineers at the Center for Wearable Senors.
Tattoos have always been about artistic expression, but what if they could provide utility, too? What if inking your skin could actually perform functions in the real world like storing passwords, opening doors and more?
It might sound far fetched, but the concept of digital tattoos is becoming a hot topic, especially in the world of medicine. Many health care professionals believe this technology could store health data, provide real time updates regarding abnormalities in blood pressure, give body temperature and more.
What Are They?
Digital tattoos are temporary tattoos outfitted with electronics. Rather than ink etched into the skin, they consist of a small graphic image that covers a microchip that’s placed on the wearer’s skin. This chip contains memory that can be accessed through smartphones and sent to different sources.
Currently, these tattoos can last up to a week and cost as little as a standard temporary tattoo with the chip included, which is anywhere to a few cents to $20.
The development of digital tattoos coincides with the development of 3-D printing and circuit printing technologies.
The first mainstream use of these digital tattoos was in 2014, when Motorola sold digital tattoos to Moto X users in the U.S. The tattoos came in the form of stickers that were worn on the skin and unlocked users’ phones.
From there, researchers started to investigate other uses for digital tattoo technology that might solve everyday inconveniences. In the following years, researchers expanded their reach into larger issues, namely related to health care.
Tattoos as Real-Time Health Monitors
Dermal Abyss, a project developed by researchers at Harvard and MIT, has created bio-sensitive ink for smart tattoos that change color as changes in your body occur.
This color-changing ink can measure the concentration of glucose and sodium in the skin’s interstitial fluid, consider the benefits this might have for people who need to monitor their blood sugar levels or cardiac activity.
“Once the bugs are worked out, the applications for biologically sensitive ink are fairly broad,” reports Harvard Medical School postdoctoral fellows Nan Jiang and Ali Yetisen in an article published by The Harvard Gazette. “(This) ink could be incorporated into long-lasting tattoos for chronic conditions or into temporary designs for shorter-duration monitoring.”
Down the road, this bio-sensitive ink could become a more reliable way for patients with chronic illnesses to monitor biological markers. Unlike many of the available ways to monitor biological characteristics now, this kind of ink wouldn’t rely on electricity, so users needn’t worry about having batteries or a charger on hand.
Accurate Health Data Storage
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company MC10 developed a waterproof, band-aid-sized patch called BioStampRC. This patch sticks to the skin and provides real-time access to a person’s vital signs and activity. While it’s still in the research stages, MC10’s researchers hope that eventually BioStampRC will be able to collect accurate data for its users and health care providers via the Bluetooth radio built into the product.“The ability to capture, with research-level precision, tailored data outside of a clinic, ... that’s the holy grail,” Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, associate dean of Harvard Medical School, says in an article by USA Today.
Technology like BioStampRC means doctors could monitor patients’ health even more closely since physical appointments aren’t necessary for vital check-ups. This means fewer ER visits, fewer trips to the doctor, and an increased chance of detecting illnesses or conditions before they become severe.
Needle-Free Glucose Monitoring
Since it’s still in the research stage, this tattoo doesn’t provide the kind of numerical data that’s needed for patients to fully monitor their own glucose, but thanks to researchers at the Center for Wearable Sensors, this idea could become a reality.
“The readout instrument will eventually have Bluetooth capabilities,” says Amay Bandodkar, a graduate student who works in the Center for Wearable Sensors, in an article by UC San Diego. “(This makes it possible to) send information directly to the patient’s doctor in real time, or to store the data in the cloud.”
Instead of needles, this device sends mild electrical currents to the wearer’s skin for 10 minutes. In this time, the electric currents are measured to determine a person’s overall glucose levels without having to access the person’s blood.
Although digital tattoo technology isn’t ready to be used in the medical world quite yet, even the strictest anti-tattoo people among us may reconsider their stance on tattoos. That is, of course, if it can help monitor their health.
Emily Real is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
