iPhones Can Read Tattoo Ink For Medical Info

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iPhones Can Read Tattoo Ink For Medical Info

Posted by timothy on Friday July 22, 2011 @01:08PM from the open-your-shirt-and-say-aaaaah dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Northeastern University have modified an iPhone to take readings from a special fluorescing nanoparticle tattoo ink, which can then measure sodium and glucose levels in the blood."

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So if I'm reading this right ... by KillaBeave · 2011-07-22 13:14 · Score: 1

... people with diabetes glow?
1. Re:So if I'm reading this right ... by AC-x · 2011-07-22 21:51 · Score: 1
  
  Well, when they're tattooed with special fluorescing nanoparticle ink they do
2. Re:So if I'm reading this right ... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-23 04:00 · Score: 0
  
  Georg?
Not Iphone by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 13:14 · Score: 3, Insightful

The Iphone doesn't actually do any of the work. The ink senses the chemical levels, and the LED's and filters read it off the ink. The only work being done is by the camera, which isn't really unique to the iphone.
1. Re:Not Iphone by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 13:32 · Score: 0
  
  I agree violently! I don't understand why Slashdot falls for such a silly thing. Just report about the actual technique instead. Slashdot really doesn't deserve its readership.
2. Re:Not Iphone by GrantRobertson · 2011-07-22 14:24 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Though I haven't thrown anything or hit anybody, I adamantly agree as well.
  
  I am so sick to death of damn near every mobile tech researcher and every media outlet of any form tying everything to the frikkin' iPhone for no damn good reason. I'm waiting for the headline that says, "iPhone wins Indy 500" just because some driver forgot to take his phone out of his pocket before taking off.
  
  What do they think, that Steve Jobs will reward them with a free iPhone? Or is it that they all fell for the marketing crap that told them they had to have an iPhone in order to be cool, and now they are trying to repair the cognitive dissonance that comes from not actually becoming cool by continuously promoting the very thing that embarrassed them? Could it possibly be that Apple has inadvertently (or perhaps advertently) created the first marketing campaign driven by customer's post-purchase embarrassment and disappointment? Naturally, no one would admit to such. It would confirm that they were wrong and create more intolerable cognitive dissonance.
3. Re:Not Iphone by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 14:25 · Score: 1
  
  So if the article title was changed to "Android phones can read tattoo ink for medical info" the same argument can be said?
4. Re:Not Iphone by kaizokuace · 2011-07-22 14:39 · Score: 1
  
  uhhhhhh how do camera's work without a camera app?
  
  --
  Balderdash!
5. Re:Not Iphone by tpstigers · 2011-07-22 14:49 · Score: 1
  
  So what you're saying is that an iPhone can't read the ink?
6. Re:Not Iphone by jklovanc · 2011-07-22 14:50 · Score: 2
  
  I think the message was that this application can be done with any cellphone.
7. Re:Not Iphone by lucm · 2011-07-22 15:45 · Score: 1
  
  > Naturally, no one would admit to such. It would confirm that they were wrong and create more intolerable cognitive dissonance.
  Admitting such a thing would be possible only for someone who was not in the first place a candidate to get caught in this marketing ploy. I call this iCatch-22.
  
  --
  lucm, indeed.
8. Re:Not Iphone by GrantRobertson · 2011-07-22 15:54 · Score: 1
  
  Depending on the size of what you caught:
  
  A) Boy, your arms must be full!
  
  ...or...
  
  B) You seriously need to start using protection!
9. Re:Not Iphone by RobbieThe1st · 2011-07-22 16:02 · Score: 2
  
  I'd argue that it's simply the fact that iPhone-using kiddies are very vocal about it, and will vote for anything with iPhone in it. And/or "timothy" is in the above group.
  I mean... I know *plenty* of interesting stuff done with other devices -- Like the N900 for example -- but it just wouldn't reach the same level of publicity. It'd be like "We just created this great tool to read tattool ink!" "So? You just threw together a few OSS libraries anddid some processing. Big deal?"
  But on the IPhone... I guess it *is* a big deal.
10. Re:Not Iphone by Jah-Wren+Ryel · 2011-07-22 20:03 · Score: 1
  
  I am so sick to death of damn near every mobile tech researcher and every media outlet of any form tying everything to the frikkin' iPhone for no damn good reason.
  If you need publicity and you can't figure out a way to make your product fight terrorists or pedophiles, then go with an iphone app.
  
  --
  When information is power, privacy is freedom.
11. Re:Not Iphone by bsdnazz · 2011-07-22 20:08 · Score: 1
  
  When it comes to technology, most people are 'kiddies'. They just want something that works and it easy to use. They follow the script like any kiddie. Most people what something that works and does something useful - they're not interested in how it works.
  An iPhone app that can read the ink is special to them because it's available and works.
12. Re:Not Iphone by RobbieThe1st · 2011-07-23 00:10 · Score: 1
  
  But the same point could be made for Android phones, and they're more ubiquitous.
13. Re:Not Iphone by Amorymeltzer · 2011-07-23 02:03 · Score: 1
  
  I can think of two, very good reasons:
  1. Brand recognition. The iPhone name is huge, and instantly recognizable, especially as the "cool, slick, hip" thing it has been marketed as. Saying "Smartphones can read tattoo ink" is boring and "Charges can read tattoo ink" can be confusing.
  2. News people are here to attract you. No matter what your opinion of the phones themselves may be, there's no denying that iPhone breeds more interest than any other.
  
  --
  I live in constant fear of the Coming of the Red Spiders.
14. Re:Not Iphone by Ihmhi · 2011-07-23 03:41 · Score: 1
  
  Why not just get a QR code tattooed on you?
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
15. Re:Not Iphone by GrantRobertson · 2011-07-23 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  I can think of two, very good reasons:
  1. Brand recognition. The iPhone name is huge, and instantly recognizable, especially as the "cool, slick, hip" thing it has been marketed as. Saying "Smartphones can read tattoo ink" is boring and "Charges can read tattoo ink" can be confusing. 2. News people are here to attract you. No matter what your opinion of the phones themselves may be, there's no denying that iPhone breeds more interest than any other.
  I call fan-boy on that one. It is not the job of a journalist to achieve or play to "brand recognition." That is, unless all that "journalist" cares about is page hits. The terms "camera phone" and "smart phone" are also instantly recognizable, especially among the potential target audience of such articles. Your sample alternative headlines are obvious straw-men in that they are intentionally devised to appear boring, confusing, and inconsequential. Much more appropriate headlines could easily have been chosen: "New Tattoo Ink Puts a Medical Test Lab Under Your Skin" See, no need to mention the phone at all. If you don't think people are interested in tattoos then you don't get out much. I would venture to guess that more people have spent more money on tattoos than all the iPhones combined. Finally, if the iPhone really breeds more interest (among the readers) then why are Android powered phones overtaking iPhones? Not to mention all the other smartphones out there. Crackberry, anyone?
  
  As I have said many times, iPhones are simply over-hyped status symbols, marketed to those with money to burn and thus, clamored for by those without who wish they had. They are nothing but "buttons" (See "Witness," the movie, the scene where Harrison Ford is first putting on his Amish clothes.) "Buttons," by the way, that lock their owners in to the control of a megalomaniacle organ stealer. Sorry, but I'm not buying into that particular lifestyle choice.
16. Re:Not Iphone by GrantRobertson · 2011-07-23 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  EXACTLY!
17. Re:Not Iphone by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-24 20:20 · Score: 0
  
  should be changed to app phones can read tatto ink for med info. i gues the reason they are using the iPhone is that it will get the headlines and that lots of people have them.
  so may be the phone will be available on the NHS / insurance now.
  Oh no apple will patent troll your blood/body parts....
18. Re:Not Iphone by Eponymous+Hero · 2011-07-25 04:56 · Score: 1
  
  yes, that is correct.
  
  --
  insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
Good news by DJRumpy · 2011-07-22 13:15 · Score: 2

This could be a boon to those that have to do the finger sticks. Also useful for those that are borderline diabetic, or hypoglycemic.
Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Dynedain · 2011-07-22 13:21 · Score: 4, Interesting

This is a really cool idea.
The iPhone part is a bit of a sensationalist gimmick, but it is a quick and dirty development environment for handheld image capture and processing. Just add the LED array for the specific light frequencies needed.
The real story I think is the specialized ink tattoos that can change based on the presence (or lack thereof) of certain chemicals in the bloodstream. While it sounds like a fairly permanent solution, it could be a real blessing for long-term patients that need frequent blood tests. Gives healthcare professionals, as well as the patient, an easy way to monitor conditions without having to draw blood.

--
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
1. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 13:35 · Score: 0
  
  Depending on accuracy and cost this could be really useful to people who don't even have a serious medical condition to worry about, like athletes.
2. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by click2005 · 2011-07-22 13:50 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  It they can do that why cant they do something more useful like make the change visual. Tattoo goes red you're in trouble with no need to keep
  taking pictures of your arm every time. As simple as checking your watch.
  
  --
  I am a free slashdotter. I will not be modded, blogged, DRM'd, patented, podcasted or RFID'd. My life is my own.
3. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 15:03 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Please, please! Make a tattoo ink that fluoresces in the presence of birth control. And tattoo all the women with the word "SAFE" on their forehead, visible when they walk in the bar under a black light.
4. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 15:10 · Score: 0
  
  ummm, for some values of "safe", I guess that works.
  
  you'd better add shades of varying tones from minor to major STDS, and the really bright warning for penis severing tendencies. Oh, and while you are at it, how about a double check that "she" is a "she", and not a "shemale".
5. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 15:17 · Score: 0
  
  I wonder what she's got:
  NSFW!!! http://tinyurl.com/3bb97pn
6. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 15:33 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Because human eyes are not precision instruments.
  A camera measurable change under certain very specified LED lights (possibly only detectable in the dark) is relatively easy (and would not be that striking) compared to a dye which absorbed something prevalent in visible light to a very high level emitting a dramatically different light wavelength as a result and changing form active to inactive in a fairly narrow range of concentrations.
  Consider that the first could be read by something like a light sensor + LED under a black sticky plaster and either fed to a gadget either through blue-tooth or a small wire if it was near by (eg hidden under a watch which doubles as a recorder). in the future maybe artificial implanted pancreases will be the norm but this allows the nearly same level of protection without the major surgery.
7. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 15:49 · Score: 0
  
  Fuck. Even the taint's tainted on that one.
  Never put your finger where you wouldn't put your face.
8. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by Dragonslicer · 2011-07-23 00:31 · Score: 1
  
  It they can do that why cant they do something more useful like make the change visual.
  Maybe they're restricted by physics and chemistry? Just because they found one substance that emits certain wavelengths, that doesn't mean they instantly know what substances could emit any given wavelength under any given conditions.
9. Re:Even without the iPhone, this is really cool by 4521red · 2011-07-26 07:34 · Score: 1
  
  Wear a condom.
iPhone plug notwithstanding by relikx · 2011-07-22 13:43 · Score: 1

this is another classic example of the further integration of technology into our lives, regardless of the device's brand name. However, I'm ironically reminded of Apple's infamous 1984 ad in the approach that a sense of cult worship exists in the uniformity (I own an iPhone, not a judgement). "We shall prevail."
1. Re:iPhone plug notwithstanding by lucm · 2011-07-22 15:47 · Score: 1
  
  We were never at war with IBM.
  
  --
  lucm, indeed.
2. Re:iPhone plug notwithstanding by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 17:52 · Score: 0
  
  Let gay people^W^WApple users be! They're just as much human as we. are They're only a bit different. And because they had to keep in the closet for so long, now they have to loudly proclaim it for some time.
  It will balance itself out over time. :)
Re:Your mother. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 13:45 · Score: 0

I think its more like one of these..
http://media.monstersandcritics.com/galleries/2022646/0194988255085.jpg
iphone is may not be so necessary by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 13:57 · Score: 0

we can not find that today so many people believe iphone is very useful and lovely, but we can not waste electronic materrials, when we loved the iphones we also should protect our environment.
Level or threshold? by PPH · 2011-07-22 14:36 · Score: 2

According to TFA, the ink fluoresces in proportion to the level of chemical in the bloodstream. Wouldn't an ink (or series of inks) that begin to fluoresce at a set of levels be better? You would remove the attenuating effect of skin and losses in the illumination/sensor light path. Different skin patches would be tattooed with different level sensitive inks and the result would be a pattern that would encode the bloodstream level. The reading s/w would be dirt simple (possibly even read with an LED flashlight/filter combo and the naked eye). a two dimensional tattoo could encode a number of parameters, include some registration patterns with ink that always fluoresces to mark pattern corners.

--
Have gnu, will travel.
1. Re:Level or threshold? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-23 01:38 · Score: 0
  
  According to TFA, the ink fluoresces in proportion to the level of chemical in the bloodstream. Wouldn't an ink (or series of inks) that begin to fluoresce at a set of levels be better?
  This is all about chemical equilibrium (look it up); briefly: While each single sensor molecule acts as an on/off switch with two distinctive states, we can macroscopically only observe the sum of the states of all molecules combined at a given time. And while the state of each single sensor changes continually, the sum of these states remains the same at a given concentration of target molecules/ions and sensor molecules. Thus, we can only observe grades, not states.
  
  Different skin patches would be tattooed with different level sensitive inks and the result would be a pattern that would encode the bloodstream level.
  This principle works well in pH paper; but keep in mind that the change of one pH unit is a tenfold in- or decrease in the concentration of "H+ ions". You don't see changes like this in the blood level of glucose. ;)
  But you're right in that the combination of different dyes makes for a more reliable read-out, e. g., to control for skin changes through dirt, sun influence, etc., which affect the absorption of different frequencies.
  IAAMB
Tattoo by Undead+Waffle · 2011-07-22 14:41 · Score: 2

Why come you got no tattoo?
1. Re:Tattoo by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 21:45 · Score: 0
  
  Thats a great movie
2. Re:Tattoo by marcomarrero · 2011-07-23 00:19 · Score: 1
  
  Because I agree with Weird Al?
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF6ct9ZEq5s
3. Re:Tattoo by 19thNervousBreakdown · 2011-07-23 06:35 · Score: 1
  
  UNSCANNABLE
  
  --
  <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
4. Re:Tattoo by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-23 18:46 · Score: 0
  
  'Cause your shit's all retarted and you talk like a fag.
Divers dream! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 14:53 · Score: 1

This would be great for scuba divers
No more guessing your oxygen and nitrogen levels !!!!
1. Re:Divers dream! by TheCarp · 2011-07-22 16:28 · Score: 2
  
  Not just divers.
  Body builders, or anyone looking to keep tabs on some process in their body that is conducive to this sort of measurement. Hell, people trying to lose weight, adjust their diet. Women looking to track their fertility, either to bring about or prevent pregnancy... perhaps anyone on birth control?
  It is a nice new tool, something so often hard to do, now could become relatively easy and portable. It still remains to be seen what is actually practical... but... it has a lot of potential.
  
  --
  "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
2. Re:Divers dream! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-22 17:03 · Score: 0
  
  A tramp-stamp in the shape of stop sign that turns bright red when she's fertile. Brilliant!
3. Re:Divers dream! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-23 00:09 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah, and then we can be encoded by a court order or at birth so that the police can see with a simple glance whether or not you have consumed any drugs or alcohol.
4. Re:Divers dream! by TheCarp · 2011-07-23 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  Well every technology has a dark side. The same gun that can drop your dinner, can be used to threaten your life. The same medical knowledge that can keep you alive through sickness, can keep you alive and awake for extended torture sessions.
  
  --
  "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
5. Re:Divers dream! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-07-23 05:17 · Score: 0
  
  you do realize that all the neo-haldanian models are about theoretical tissue compartments and have no connection to actual body tissues?
666 by tepples · 2011-07-23 00:04 · Score: 1

Why come you got no tattoo?
I can give about six hundred sixty-six reasons.
ahh by TamiAzher · 2011-07-23 01:11 · Score: 1

cool idea, only if i had iphone sigh...