Biomedical researchers at Draper Laboratories are working on a blood glucose monitoring nano ink tattoo that will allow diabetics to say goodbye to the daily routine of painful needles. This cool tattoo allows you to manage diabetes and look tough at the same time.
This new technology would require the apply of a one time small tattoo on the arm. The tattoo contains a glucose detecting ink that changes color based upon the blood glucose levels.
The nano ink particles are tiny, squishy spheres about 120 nanometers across. Inside the sphere are three parts: the glucose detecting molecule, a color-changing dye, and another molecule that mimics glucose.
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If the molecules mostly latch onto glucose, the ink appears yellow. If glucose levels are low, the molecule latches onto the glucose mimic, turning the ink purple. A healthy level of glucose has a “funny orangey,” color, according to Clark. The sampling process repeats itself every few milliseconds.
My only question is do you have to get a heart tattoo or can you get a custom tattoo design like a dragon tattoo or a skull tattoo?
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This may sound like good news to Diabetics, but this tattoo is a very long way from development. First of all, the body’s immune system will most likely react towards such an intrusive substance. Second, inserting foreign particles can lead to life-threatening allergic reactions. Finally, the operative life time of these spheres are not well established
Maybe it will help some people, though it probably won’t be very accurate.
I’ve been testing my blood sugar and injecting insulin for years. The blood tests aren’t particularly painful and only take a moment. The injections are also nearly painless and not at all troubling.
This is good news, I hope it works. I won’t miss the daily blood tests.
Regardless of practicality (I personally do not have a problem with my current method) this is an incredibly cool idea.
I’ve read these comments and how you people be confident in your deductions? I would like someone with some medical authority to make an intelligent comment on this page, instead of people making outlandish remarks with no merit.
yea i could see some people having a problem with the heart tattoo. very interesting idea though.
It sounds like the tattoo will show an *absence* of a certain minimum amount of glucose in the blood in the capillaries at the surface of the skin; so the information will be late and will only warn of low (not high) sugar. But even if it is not a replacement for testing, and I still test 8 times a day, this sounds hugely useful. Being able to see at a glance if one is in danger of low blood sugar — take the terror out of daily life. Wow.
I agree, I had a friend pass away from hypoglycemia which resulted in a diabetic coma. I think something that can simplify the daily monitoring of sugar levels and hopefully prevent complications is a step in the right direction.
I have been testing my sugars for more than 37 years now and am oh so tired of it …. i test 8 to 10 times a day and would simply LOVE the tattoo idea as i already have 5 tattoo’s this will just blend into my other pieces
and for all you haters… you can’t understand what it’s like until you’ve been there . this is a break thru which we haven’t had in YEARS and YEARS ! let us have out small (or large) moments in the sun 
… i am all for it and hope i get a chance to try it out before any complications set in (if they do .) this will help in so many ways… can’t wait !
My father is a war veteran diabetic and has been struggling forever to keep it under control, seems its kind of hopeless at times. I wish something like this or something similar in sorts will market out soon, if it’ll benefit all the diabetics, im all for it. I am suprised that all these years that have passed that this sickness hasnt been cured already. Where are all the cures. Oh yeah all our money is going to the war and the economic recovery and wait…well pour more andd more money for more war efforts. Not saying all those things aint important either just seems like i have to complain to an extent.Take care everyone