DermalAbyss, the tattoo that could change the lives of diabetics

What if the sting on the finger soon became a distant memory for diabetics? Researchers have developed a tattoo to apply to the skin that could allow to control its glycemic level at a glance.

Diabetes affects approximately 442 million people worldwide. The International Federation of Diabetes is considered a genuine pandemic, but it is a real public health problem, especially as the disease continues to spread. While in 2016, one in eleven people were suffering from the disease worldwide, a group of scientists developed a system that could prove to be revolutionary.

Diabetes results in a disorder of the assimilation, use and storage of sugars brought by the diet. A disorder that leads to an abnormal glucose (blood sugar) in the blood. Generally, diabetics have treatments at hand in the event of hyperglycemia (a rate too high) or hypoglycemia (rate too low) but it is important to regularly check their blood sugar to avoid coming to the discomfort.

This is where the real taboo for many diabetics lies. Poking your finger all the time to monitor your sugar levels continually returns the patient to his illness. Unpleasant, sometimes painful, and too regular, this practice can cause real discomfort in some concerned, especially vis-à-vis the eyes of others.

A tattoo that changes color

Today, scientists may have found an alternative solution to help these people. These researchers at MIT and Harvard Medical School have recently developed a tattoo ink capable of changing color according to variations in glucose levels in the body. "It combines the advances of biotechnology with the traditional methods of the art of tattooing," welcomed the project's promoters. Still at the research stage, this quasi-magical ink is called Dermal Abyss. Although no development plan or clinical trials are programmed at this time, the invention has already yielded promising results on swine skin samples. The color change is generated by biosensors integrated in the ink. When they detect the increase in blood glucose concentration, the color changes from blue to brown and thus indicates to the wearer that an injection of insulin is necessary.

Other magic inks

Scientists have also developed other types of inks to monitor the sodium levels and pH of our body. For example, the ink composed of pH sensors will automatically measure the alkalinity of the interstitial fluids of our body, so it will detect especially if the blood is too acid and go from purple to pink if that is the case.

Sodium-based ink will also change from green to more aggressive green as salt intake increases. "The Dermal Abyss creates direct access to compartments in the body and reflects internal metabolic processes in the form of tattooing," the MIT panel concluded in a statement.