Subdermal Magnets Allow You To Wear an IPod Like a Watch

Okian Warrior writes "Tattoo artist Jersey from Dynasty Tattoo (in New Jersey) implanted sub-dermal magnets in his arm to wear his iPod touch like a watch. From the article: '“Those magnets are actually called micro-dermal anchors, and in body piercing they are very common. The tops are actually just 5 millimetre magnetic tops,” he said. “I took the ends of magnets and actually adhered them to the back of the iPod, and that’s how they click into my skin.” He added: “I can go for a run and it won’t come off. I’ve already taken it to the gym and jogged with it on.”'"

Comments

Apple announces

[Anonymous Coward]

New, even smaller, iPod. Users will need to buy new accessories, or new arms in this case.

Re:Apple announces

[Anonymous Coward]

Alternatively, "New, same sized, sub-dermal iPod! It really fucking hurts!"

Re:Apple announces

[JaredOfEuropa]

"Why is it called an eyePhone?"
- "Ehm, I'll explain after I install it."

Re:Apple announces

[Hentes]

You are holding it wrong.

Re:Apple announces

[Thud457]

if you check TFA and see the guys arm

If you check the T S A, this guy doesn't fly anywhere.

Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[maweki]

It is nice but I rather be augmented sensewise than fashionwise by these magnets. I'd love one in my fingertip that induces a current whenever I am very near alternating current. Would give us the ability to feel electric energy or magnetic fields in general.
Regarding the iPod: Actually, my pocket works very good, Thank you!

Re:Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[RobertLTux]

fingertip magents would be a very BAD idea.

the way it works is you have current whenever you have motion in a magnetic field so you would have all sorts of problems

(besides all you would need really is a small coil not a magnet)

(for details look up Right Hand Rule (electronics) in Wikipedia)

Re:Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[artor3]

Have fun getting an MRI.

Re:Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[Damion]

It's pretty sweet. I've got one in my right thumb and index finger. I feel a buzz whenever there's a strong enough alternating field nearby, and a tug whenever I pass my hand near strong static magnets. I'll be walking down the street and feel sensors to detect the presence of cars, and I can feel the brakes in subway cars. Nothing particularly practical, but I figure I may get a couple of seconds warning before the shockwave if I ever feel an EMP.

In terms of strength, I can basically pick up staples. Anything heavier falls off. Other magnets I can drag around on the table pretty easily, though it's uncomfortable to have them actually contact my fingers.

Re:Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[vlm]

Ah this old idea that pops up on /. every month or so.

This is where I relate that you can get ALMOST the same experience temporarily with stretchy gloves and little magnets in the fingertips. Obviously buy gloves with fabric fingers just a little longer than your fingers. In the frozen north, in season, this is not much of a challenge... Florida /.ers are probably all like, gloves, what are those?

It is fun for at least a couple hours. Try touching the body of a big motor or old fashioned xfrmr power supply. Variable speed AC/DC "universal" motors were not as much fun as I expected. Waving in front of a CRT screen is entertaining.

You want gloves thick/strong enough to not tear, but not so thick as to lose sensation.

GOOG for "magnetic wedding ring" and you'll find lots of crackpot "magnets cured mah arthritis" pure BS, but this is probably the ultimate in non-invasive experimentation. Unlike the Magnet-in-glove thing, I've not tried magnetic wedding rings.

The biggest problem with "magnets/hands" is what happens when it inevitably cracks. Sharp little ceramic shards pinching slashed up tissue. So don't go giving steel plates a "high five".

Re:Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[Damion]

A week or two. Turn on a microwave--that should do it. Or go into a bookstore--you'll feel the scanners at the door.

I live in NYC, where there are all kinds of things hidden behind walls and under the sidewalk. Maybe you're just in an area deficient in weirdness?

Re:Magnets in your body? That's nice.

[Anonymous Coward]

As another guy with fingertip magnets (one in each ring finger) I second this!

Magnetic fields cause the tiny magnets to align to the field. You can feel the magnet inside the finger being attracted or repelled. In the case of alternating current, you have an oscillating electromagnetic field which causes the magnet to vibrate. There's no current being induced; you don't get shocked. If you want to try it without the implant, superglue a tiny rare earth magnet to your skin and go hunt some strong oscillating EM fields (AC adapters, some electric motors.) It's definitely a cool human augmentation, and kind of a comic book superpower. Sort of.

In the case of the article, he's got subdermal anchors with magnets attached to the part that sticks out of the skin. I've been wondering if one could get the same magnetic sensory ability from this arrangement, feeling the vibrating magnet. You could switch it for different magnets, and the shaft sticking out of the skin would give the magnet more leverage in most alignments.

amateurs

[circletimessquare]

i do that with my macbook, on my chest

"nice rack" they point and laugh

yeah, it is a nice rack server, over WiMAX, neanderthals

Re:Magnets?! How to they %#^&^@# work?

[RobertLTux]

and i would bet that at 90ish angles to a strong electrical field there is almost always a strong Magnetic field.

Re:Magnets?! How to they %#^&^@# work?

[Damion]

Only if the fields are changing. RTFMAXWELLEQUATIONS.

Re:Magnets?! How to they %#^&^@# work?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

If I were in a betting mood, I'd imagine that the largest risk would be implant degradation. Rare earth magnets, in their raw or thin-layer-of-nickel-plate forms, are not biocompatible or stable under implant conditions. If the protective coating(the firmer flavors of silicone elastomer seem to be popular; but I'm sure that there are others) is breached he'll have to get out the potato peeler and dig out a nasty lump of putrifying magnet corrosion products. Hardly fatal; but neither fun nor scar-free.

It didn't take too long for that to happen to the 'magnet in fingertip for 6th sense' guy, and I wouldn't be terribly optimistic here.

Re:Doing this is not smart

[MoonBuggy]

The anchors themselves are transdermal (through the skin), not subdermal (entirely under the skin) as the headline states. The magnetic caps sit on top of the steel which is protruding outside the skin, and the iPod then sits on them.

Not new

[evil_aaronm]

I've had a magnet stuck to my head for about 15 years. It's called a cochlear implant. There's a metal plate embedded in my skull, but a moderately heavy-duty magnet holds the inductor coil in place. As far as I can tell, I haven't had any problems with this.

Re:Magnets?! How to they %#^&^@# work?

[acedotcom]

except thats not how these implants work. the actual magnets sit just above the skin like external mounts so the only tension on the skin is from the bases of the implants.

the real problem having to get new implants to support next years model.