{"id":665,"date":"2023-01-24T03:41:40","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T03:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/mist5720\/?p=665"},"modified":"2023-01-24T03:41:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T03:41:43","slug":"blog-1-color-changing-medical-tattoos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctlsites.uga.edu\/mist5720\/blog-1-color-changing-medical-tattoos\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog 1: Color-Changing Medical Tattoos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know that the whole world (including my entire Twitter home page) is currently consumed by the potential possibilities that ChatGPT can offer, but I decided to take a quick break from that and talk about something that could be as, or even more, monumental: Color-changing Medical Tattoos.<\/strong> I know, you\u2019re probably thinking, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d, \u201cIsn\u2019t that just a colored tattoo?\u201d. Honestly, I thought the same, I had absolutely no idea what this innovation was until I researched it a bit further. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the CDC<\/a>, \u201cMore than 37 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10)\u201d. Additionally, according to MIT<\/a>, \u201cdiabetics need to monitor their glucose levels\u20263 to 10 times per day\u201d. Although this may not directly affect you or a close family member, most Americans can think of someone they know (either a distant family member, friend, or even a teacher) that has been affected by this chronic disease. Personally, I have a very close friend that has type one diabetes, and with this, she always has to be on the lookout for her insulin levels. My friend also has to carry her medical devices around, make sure her phone is always charged to connect to her pump and replace her patch every few days. With school and work, she often complains that keeping up with all the necessary precautions can be difficult. However, her life, and the medical industry as a whole, might change completely with the invention of color-changing medical tattoos.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sooo\u2026 What is it? How does it work? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Color-changing medical tattoos are tattoos that use color-changing ink with biosensors to indicate when there has been a change to the body. Currently, the innovation has been directed toward detecting changes in blood sugar and sodium levels. For example, if my friends\u2019 blood sugar drops, her tattoo would automatically change colors to warn her that she needs a pump of insulin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s even better? To apply the tattoo, a needle isn\u2019t even needed. The tattoo is applied like a temporary tattoo; it\u2019s just dabbed directly onto where the user wants it. I\u2019m going to spare you all of the scientific details, but basically, the biosensor on the tattoo has two electrodes that make the blood sugar rise to the surface, therefore letting it be measured (AZO Sensors<\/a>). Furthermore, the tattoo can work to detect pH levels and albumin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This invention first started as a project named DermalAbyss between Harvard Medical School and MIT researchers. The tattoos use \u201cadvances in biotechnology with traditional methods in tattoo artistry\u201d (MIT<\/a>). Having a tattoo is already cool, but one that tells you the status of your health? Even cooler! Plus, it saves people diagnosed with Diabetes the constant pricking.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attached below is a picture from the ScienceAlert<\/a> website that demonstrates how the colors would change in response to a change in the body. Furthermore, another picture depicting how an actual color-changing medical tattoo would look is attached<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Below is a quick video from Futurism <\/a>depicting how the tattoo would work, (caution: it\u2019s scientific-y):\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DermalAbyss: Possibilities of Biosensors as a Tattooed Interface<\/a><\/h4>

Project Page: https:\/\/www.media.mit.edu\/projects\/d-Abyss\/overview\/ Can tattoos embrace technology in order to make the skin interactive? The Dermal Abyss is a proof-of-concept that presents a novel approach to biointerfaces in which the body surface is rendered an interactive display. Traditional tattoo inks were replaced with biosensors whose colors change in response to variations in the interstitial fluid.<\/p><\/blockquote>