Biosensing Tattoo Changes Color When Your Blood Sugar Levels Change

Having diabetes implies that the sufferer has to know what his blood level. This usually takes a while and is usually quite invasive - since people usually have to prick themselves on a finger and place a drop of blood on a test strip. Others have a small device implanted just below their skin that continuously measures blood levels, and sends the information to an external device.

However, researchers at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have proposed a rather curious alternative; Thanks to a special ink, have created a tattoo that changes color based on blood sugar levels.

Known as DermalAbyss - although currently still in the test phase, and not available to the general public - it is able to track pH levels as well as sodium and glucose concentrations within the bloodstream: when there is too much sugar , The tattoo turns brown; If there is too much sodium, it will look green. If you change the pH, you will get a more purple or pink tone.

"DermalAbyss ink presents a new approach to biointerfaces in which the body surface is represented as an interactive screen," the team explains in a promotional video.

The ink is not "connected" directly to the bloodstream; It actually monitors the interstitial fluid, a substance that surrounds tissue cells. Water, ions, and small solutes - including salts, sugars, fatty acids, amino acids and hormones - are constantly traversing this fluid through the walls of their capillaries.

For the moment, it has only been tested on pork skin, but it is very similar to ours. However, there remains evidence to be made, as if it can produce allergic reactions or if it ends up decomposing over time.

Researchers point out that tattooing can be done in any form, so each person will have their own design, just like conventional tattoos.

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Reference:
IFLScience