Smart Tattoos Can Monitor Your Health

Scientists have invented a new tattoo ink that can give the wearer a real-time health assessment!

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the MIT Media Lab have developed a unique, versatile, power-free health monitoring system. This “smart” tattoo ink can measure a patient’s blood sugar level (which is important for diabetics, for example), while another person can measure the level of dehydration. If the parameters to which the ink is sensitive change, the colors of the tattoo will also change..

According to the Harvard Newspaper, the ink responds to changes in the user’s interstitial fluid and can provide real-time information about blood glucose and sodium levels. For example, one type of ink changes from green to brown as the glucose level rises. Other green ink becomes more intense as sodium concentration increases (which may indicate dehydration).

The researchers note that they still need to continue their ink experiments. Currently, tattoos have been done on pigskin. The results seem promising when it comes to long-term monitoring of chronic diseases, it is not yet clear if the ink will absorb over time or just disappear..

For people who would like to use such monitoring, but are not fans of tattoos, scientists are also developing “invisible” ink that can only be seen under the light from a smartphone..

Prepared by: ARAME (Gavrilova Irina Andreevna)