Body tattoo is an epitome of coolness and glamour amongst the youth. With so many interesting designs people readily undergo the painful procedure to get their bodies inked. Most of the tattoos are associated with one’s ideals and beliefs. The symbolic beauty of this body pictures is enthralling coupled with the fact that they are permanent. Many ancient civilizations included body tattoos as an important part of their customs. Today, tattoos have become must for modern culture of pop, punks and hippies.
However, have you ever heard of a tattoo that keeps you healthy? No? Well, here it is. A temporary tattoos that keeps you healthy! What’s more? It won’t cause any particular pain to get it inked on your body. Heather Clark, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences in Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health Sciences, is developing tattoos that involve nano sensors injected into an upper layer of the skin—a far less invasive, and thus less painful, process than a traditional tattoo. Clarks tattoos are a boon for diabetes patients reliving them of the painful procedure of pricking their fingers to check their blood sugar levels every time.
The process of getting these healthy tattoos involves injecting small beads containing fluorescent particles into the epidermal layer of the patient’s skin. These fluorescent particles are susceptible to changes in concentration of glucose and sodium levels in the bloodstream. They glow and become more intense with changing levels of salts and sugar. At times, they even change colour — as the glucose or sodium levels drop. These changes in the tattoo are carefully and instantly monitored on hand held electronic devices. Patients reapply this tattoo once a week. Clark said,
“Tattoo artists basically poke holes and inject ink, which is made of particles, into the skin, where they reside for the rest of your life. Our sensors are nanoparticles, so it seemed like a natural choice to use these as a tattoo for monitoring health status”
Shraddha Patil
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