Tattoos get smart

Tattoos have gone smart, yes, you heard me right, tattoos have gone smart. In an attempt to shock and amaze you (that or just present something completly different) I came across an article regarding smart tattoos. This was intresting to me becuse of our in class discussions a while back about body art in terms of piercing and machines reading our body and creating a response. Now it is a step down although with a purpose. Researchers in Texas A&M and Penn State have developed a new diabetics testing system using ink in the skin. Unlike a tattoo the ink does not enter the cells of the skin but the fluid surronding to read the glucose levels in the body. This tattoo would change according the glucose thus informing the diabetic of thier status. Now teens all over the world have a valid excuse to get that massive tattoo thier parents where fearing. But in all seriousness, this is a major breakthrough for diabetics if it is succesfull becuse of its painless method of showing glucose levels, its also more accurate becuse its monitering 24 hours a day rather than the once a day needle shot they must currently use for accurate results. The technology is simple in terms. Thier is a fluorescent ink bonded to another chemical inserted in the system with a needle. The fluorescents then change according to glucose level. Simple huh? Its still in early stages so there isnt a large amount of information but its an intresting blend of techology and body and shows how the lines between the two are quickly blurring. I also might check into UV tats. They are invisble to the eye under normal light, they however under a blacklight show up. They are like a normal tat in every respect of always being there, no design limits, and costing a fortune, but you just get the joy of not having to see it when you get old as long as you dont go near a blacklight. Cheers!

Spivey
Refs:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2225404.stm
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/09/03/001216