MIT ft. Harvard Medical School - Tattooed Vital Displays

Injectable Biosensor Tattoo

In the paper published this month a team of scientists from MIT and Harvard Medical School presents a new application of injectable biosensors - Tattoos that will tell you about your body's chemistry.

Skin Display Tattoo visualization

By injecting nano-sized sensors that respond in change of color to change in the surrounding environment's chemistry scientists were able to make tattoos that changed color depending on hydration, pH and sugar levels in the body.

The ink was successfully tested on pig skin and displayed all ascribed properties.

Skin as a display

Currently technology is being developed as part of DermalAbyss projects and aims much higher than just tattoos that change color based on your sugar and pH. Among list of goals of the work-in-progress tech we find:

By featuring tissue cells with interactive properties, the skin can change its color, light intensity, or structure to display information. Hence, the skin cells become a pixel screen to be decoded by the user, other viewers, or cameras. Integration of optical technologies with skin may allow camouflage or highlight such information dynamically.

The hardware of current electronics-based wearables is noticeable. The introduction of biosensors as tattoos renders the technology seamless and personal

We propose the use of the metabolism as an input for d-abyss. Thus, the chemical reactions of the cells in the tissue will be driving the interaction

Tattoos, as one of the oldest body modification processes, are visual, aesthetic and permanent. Thus, d-abyss uses this well-known practice to create interfaces that provide information when the design changes colors or light intensity

We can expect (very soon) resistant skin-display that will reflect wide variety of internal changes and display them in form of a beautiful changing tattoo. There are still some challenges bio compatibility and more trials needed, but as you can see in the video below - this are already looking quite cooked.

DermalAbyss: Possibilities of Biosensors as a Tattooed Interface from Fluid Interfaces on Vimeo.

I always thought I was never going to get a tattoo as I seen no point of such invasive procedure for purely aesthetic reasons, but now I see that tattoo could be very practical. This functionality could change how tattoos are viewed, and soon having a tattoo could mean carring about own health and leading more healthy life-style.

What do you guys think? Would choose a tattoo over a membrane-sticker that could work similarly?
Share your thoughts in the comment below!
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