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Dermal Abyss, the tattoo that changes color when you're sick

What if tattooing could become more than an art? In any case, this is what students from MIT and Harvard Medical School are showing. Since 2017, this small group of students has developed a process that allows tattoo ink to change color depending on sugar or salt levels or the pH level of the skin. Her name ? Dermal Abyss. This scientific and medical process should allow diabetics in particular to monitor their blood sugar levels more precisely, without going through the injection stage before and after each meal.

From blue to brown

But then, how does this ink work? It is made up of biosensors that will react depending on what the blood is made up of (if there are too many carbohydrates, too much potassium, etc.). Concretely, in the event of a high presence of carbohydrate, the ink will change from blue to brown, if the salt level is too high, it will change from classic green to phosphorescent green, and pink will change to purple in the event of a significant increase. the pH of the skin. For the moment, this ink is not yet available or marketed. Many tests must first be carried out, in particular to see if it presents any danger to health (it is currently being tested on pig skins, and the first results are conclusive).

If this medical advance is interesting and allows to give a new utility to the tattoo, the team of researchers specifies all the same that it is not intended to replace medical analyzes, necessarily more precise.