Could nanotech tattoos be the future of health monitoring?

Researchers in South Korea have developed an electronic tattoo that automatically signals potential health issues. 

The ink works by effectively creating an electric circuit on the skin. When connected to an electrocardiogram (ECG) device or other biosensor, it can send a readout of a patient's heart rate and other vital signs such glucose and lactate to a monitor. The current technology is limited by the fact that it still requires wiring to acquire data, an issue researchers hope to address in the future. 

Project leader, Steve Park, told Reuters: ‘In the future, what we hope to do is connect a wireless chip integrated with this ink, so that we can communicate, or we can send signal back and forth between our body to an external device.’ 

Such monitors could be located in patients’ homes. The tattoo ink is made from particles based on gallium, a metal also used in semiconductors or thermometers. Platinum-decorated carbon nanotubes help conduct electricity while providing durability. 

‘When it is applied to the skin, even with rubbing the tattoo doesn't come off, which is not possible with just liquid metal,’ Park added. The ink does come off with soap and dries on the skin in less than 10 seconds.