Tattoo for diabetics - a new way to monitor blood sugar levels

A person who suffers from type 1 or 2 diabetes must always know what level of blood sugar he has at the moment. As a rule, these measurements take a long time, besides the method itself is invasive. Usually a person has to puncture a finger using a special device to place a small drop of blood on the test strip. There are other devices that implant patients under the skin. In this case, they constantly measure the blood sugar level and transfer the data to an external device.

Alternative

However, now a team of researchers from Harvard came up with a rather curious alternative. Using specialized ink, they developed a bioinformation tattoo that can change color depending on the level of sugar in the blood.

These specialized inks are known as DermalAbyss. At present, they are still in the process of proofreading and therefore are not available to the general public. Thanks to the unique formulation, the ink makes it possible to monitor the pH level, as well as the concentration of sodium and glucose in the blood. If the amount of glucose, for example, is too high, the ink becomes brown. Too much sodium - and they turn green. Purple and pink colors indicate a change in pH level.

DermalAbyss ink is a new approach to the biointerface, in which the surface of the body is visualized as an interactive display, explains the team of scientists in the commercial.

How it works

For the sake of justice, it should be said that dynamic inks do not directly contact your blood. In fact, they control the interstitial fluid, that is, the substance that surrounds the tissue cell in the body of any animal or human. Through the walls of capillaries, water, ions and small solutions, including salt, sugar, fat, amino acids and hormones, constantly enter this liquid.

Currently, the ink has been tested only on pig skin, which is very similar to ours. Nevertheless, they are certainly effective, although it is still necessary to conduct tests on people to understand exactly how they will work. It is also important to check whether ink can cause any allergic reactions and whether they will break down with time.

A new solution to the old problem

Whatever it was, right now it's safe to say that this is a fairly new and elegant solution to the problem, which in fact has not been taken into account for some time. Only time will tell whether this technique will be more effective than previous ones. In addition, it is still invasive, although only in the first stage, after which it becomes part of your biology.

Researchers note that with the help of these inks it is possible to make tattoos of any shape, so each person can have it unique, just like the usual one.