'Remote sensing' Electronic Tattoos

Tattoos are as old as mankind, though it was the exposure to the Polynesian practice that had re-ignited interest in tattooing in the West. Tattooing has been practised for centuries in many cultures around the world. The 'skin art' is mostly decorative in purpose. But now medical researchers at the University of Illinois have converted the tattoo into a diagnostic tool.

The electronic circuit 'printed' on skin

The project, pioneered by materials scientist John Rogers, is the latest development in research into flexible "epidermal electronics". This involves flexible circuit boards and electronics that can be printed directly on to the skin of a person, whose health parameters like heart rate and temperature, strain and hydration, could be monitored directly by the sensors and the accompanying circuits, and beamed back to the physician. Techniques have been developed to print circuits directly on to human skin with a rubber stamp. it is then covered with a spray-on bandage to form a protective coating. The ultra-thin mesh electronics operate like a standard computer circuit board – with electrodes, sensors and wireless communication systems.

This development could be the first step in a futuristic system of networked healthcare. With such a "tattoo system" in place, patients could be sent home to recuperate post-surgical procedures and doctors could monitor their progress remotely, with the "printed-tattoo" devices taking over the roles of electromyographs and electrocardiographs, the "big iron" of hospital rooms. The "tattoo" circuits will continue to do their job for a couple of weeks before the skin's natural exfoliation process will cause them to flake off.

That makes one wonder: Is it right to call them tattoos--which are more or less permanent?!

Explore more at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/mar/13/electronic-tattoo-monitor-patient-symptoms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo