There is diabetes in my family, although I don’t have it, I am all too familiar with the routine. I guess like almost everything in life you get used to doing whatever it is you have to do. Some folks seem to adapt so much better than others. I think I would be a  poor adapter, the simplest things make me crazy, so having to poke myself with a needle several times a day would make me nuts. Luckily for people like me, things are starting to change.
We recently reported on a glucose monitoring iPhone app and other interesting ways to keep track of your blood sugar levels, but heres one you may not have heard about – a nanoparticle ink tattoo that can keep track of your levels without the need for the constant finger pokes and annoying blood squeezing onto those little paper strips.
Once these nanoparticles are injected into the skin, glucose levels can be detected, and the diabetic tattoo will turn yellow or orange. The darker the color, the lower the sugar. The tattoo’s “ink” is sensitive to any changes in glucose levels and will fluoresce, but only when viewed in near infrared light. It is likely that one would pass a small monicle type device over the tattoo that would reveal the colors, and the ability to read blood sugar levels.
Funny how things work out, the technology was originally developed to be sodium sensitive and monitor heart health, and to learn more about electrolytes in the body, and the trials in mice showed spectacular results, testing the tech for glucose readings is in process right now, no word yet on when when you’ll be able to get your “tag” and by the way, you’re not going to need that full shoulder fire breathing dragon you wanted all your life, it seems like these medical tattoos are very small and only last 6 months or so before they need to be re-inked. Would you be willing to try it?
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