MIT develops tattoo ink to help you know when you're sick just by looking

New tattoo ink can change color according to health status.

The project, called DermalAbyss , is a collaboration between researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical School. This is a combination of techniques in the field of liquid interface (Fluid Interfaces) and biotechnology. Researchers have successfully developed tattoo inks that can change color according to changes in the body, such as blood sugar and sodium in the blood.

Using a liquid with biosensors, the researchers turned the skin surface into a "monitor" for health monitoring. This technology could become a revolutionary new breakthrough in monitoring human health.

Tattoo ink can change color according to health status.

Currently, the team has developed three different inks that change with interstitial fluid between our cells, accounting for about 16% of the body weight.

Of the three most attractive, sensor ink types is probably the type to measure blood sugar levels. When blood sugar rises, blue ink turns brown. A blood sugar tattoo can help make life easier for people with diabetes.

The team also created an ink that turned from pink to purple based on pH. The third ink can detect sodium, emitting green under ultraviolet light when there is a high concentration of salt.

For people with a health condition that requires monitoring of blood sugar or sodium, using an image may be an interesting concept.

Different inks can help monitor sodium, blood glucose and pH levels.

But now, DermalAbyss is only in the initial research phase and there is no information about when it can become a real product.

Before this great technology can be accepted in humans, it will have to go through many stages of rigorous tests, possibly in the first and last animals in humans. Researchers tested inks on pig skin. In an introduction video of DermalAbyss, you can see how these tests work.

One thing to note is the possibility of allergies when using these inks on people. Besides, there are still doubts about the accuracy in expressing the health parameters of tattoo inks.

The team member, Xin Liu, said: "It takes a long time to do practical things, but this technology evokes imagination and opens new possibilities."