The Best Tattoo in the World - for the Diabetics

Posted on May 21, 2009
Filed Under Curious Tattoo Facts

Scientists have developed tattoo ink that changes its colour depending on the blood sugar level.

Doctors usually don’t encourage tattoos because inflamed skin and infections are a common case among the tattoo lovers. But the new type of tattoo developed by the researchers at Charles Stark Draper Laboratories in Boston, USA is considered to be very helpful in the struggle with diabetes.

The newly developed tattoo ink contains tiny nanosensors that measure the changes in blood sugar level. This ink changes to yellow if the level is dangerously high, purple colour means low level of glucose and orange colour shows that the level of glucose is normal.

There are two major advantages of this method of cheking. First of all, the nanosensors check the blood sugar level every several nanoseconds, and though the whole tattoo will need about 20 minutes to change its colour - it is still more effective than the method of checking twice a day that the diabetics are using nowadays. And the second advantage is that it is a needle-free alternative, which means - no more painful finger-pricks and shots.

Now researchers are checking the compatibility of the ink with the human skin, also they are working on improving the measurement accuracy. If all goes well, the new technology will be available in the next 10 years.