They create tattoos to measure glucose level

• April 18, 2024

With the purpose of creating a culture of prevention in the diabetes , Michael Strano, professor of Chemical Engineering at the Institute of Massachusetts Technology (MIT, for its acronym in English) proposes the creation of a tattoo to measure the levels of sugar in the body.

To achieve this, it relies on the nanotechnology . The idea is to develop a tattoo of special ink in the same way that a aesthetic tattoo in the body; some small particles that give color.

According to Strano if you can replace the traditional ink with nanodevices , design particles, these could respond to glucose.

In an interview with CNN, the scientist Strano emphasizes that despite the great advances in engineering, the ability they currently have to accurately measure glucose in the body is still primitive.

In this regard, an investigation published in 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine, notes that continuous monitoring helps patients with diabetes , of at least 25 years of age, to control their levels of glucose .

Glucose in nanoparticles

In this sense, the expert of Massachusetts Institute He indicated that the most accurate devices on the market for this measurement are those that need a finger, and even the latter uses technology that must be calibrated at least once a day.

"If you put it on your skin, it reacts; Thick scars are made by the intruder. The first challenge of the biomedicine it is to keep the body separate, not to detect it and create a defense between the interface and the body, "he explains.

In the technology they are proposing: "basically the glucose is around the nanoparticles , around the tattoo . It would change the color depending on the sugar concentrations. We would use a fluorescent color, which is property of some materials. It would be injected into the skin as a tattoo ; Maybe renewing the substance every six months. It would shine warning of high concentrations of sugar ".

Strano says that they are currently testing this technology with animals, but can not reveal more. Neither what kind nor how.

Video Medicine: Smart tattoo will help measure your glucose level (April 2024).