About 47% of millennials have one tattoo and 37% have two. At the other extreme, only 13% of baby boomers can say the same thing. The numbers come from the United States, but considering that Spain is the sixth country with the most tattooed people in the world, we shouldn’t fall far behind.

First of all, because tattoos have ceased to be just a decorative theme to become a biomedical tool with a great future.

Our long history with ink. I don’t know if we can say that tattoos are as old as human history, but I’m sure they are at least 5,300 years old. The age of Ötzi, a Neolithic hunter we discovered in Tyrol in 1991. Ötzi had 61 tattoos on his body. Surprisingly, yes: but this is only the beginning of a long story that can help us solve many problems.

Why are tattoos permanent?. Because it has never been easier to explain (scientifically) how tattoos work. Let’s think for a second: tattoos are ‘forever’; however, dermis cells do not change: in fact, these cells change several times throughout life. Why doesn’t the ink disappear with them, even with small tattoos? What exactly is going on there?

In recent years, researchers seem convinced that the mystery of tattoos lies in macrophages, a central element of the immune system that specializes in recognizing, engulfing and destroying damaged, dead cells or different types of infections. They are the bullies of the immune system, the ones who do the “dirty work” so to speak.

Can we take advantage of this? Once we understand the mechanism behind tattoos, it’s easier to start thinking of them as ‘injectable dermal biosensors’.

That is, as minimally invasive means of controlling the metabolites contained in the interstitial fluid. Simply put: think of tattoos that change color and can show our glucose or albumin levels.

This is exactly what this team from the Technical University of Munich has accomplished: pigments that react with different indicators and provide a simple visual check of diabetes or liver failure (something that can be very useful for children with type 1). sample); however, this combined with a smartphone capable of recognizing and interpreting the tones of the tattoo can yield very precise quantitative readings without the need for puncture.

The future of wearable devices? At Xataka, we’ve spent years addressing this type of development that now appears to be entering the pre-commercial phase. We also mentioned “OLED tattoos” that allow lights to be placed directly on the skin; however, this biotechnological approach opens up very interesting doors as we learn to listen and visualize the messages our own body sends us.

A few days ago, we said that cyborgs are a reality and will increase in the light of these developments.

Image: Dermalabyss

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