Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Circuit Board Tattoos That Actually Work Will Bring Your Cyborg Fantasies To Life
gizmodo.com: There’s a common misconception that tattoos are only a way to express your individuality (just like everyone else does), or only serve as loving tributes to moms. But they have practical medical applications too, especially now that circuit board temporary tattoos exist.
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7 comments:
The tattoo technology itself is amazing, its cool that it's usable for medical technology and fun. Its hard to imagine really that this will integrated in to the world of medicine to easily, begin that its probably not what older patients or insurance companies would jump on board with, but I wouldn't mind seeing it at more convention, small scale theaters, and rallies. If they find a more permanent option I probably would consider integrating the tech into one of my tattoos. On the article it self however, first off it insulted the reader in the first two lines, mock ink art all you want but some of are really devoted to our pieces, and I did not get this work to impress you (Mr. Author) but rather for my own private reasons. Secondarily pick one, your title tells me its for the arts but then you tell me oh since that wont work go a head an use it for medicine?
These “tech tats” have a totally awesome application in the medical field, and I think it would be amazing and productive for everyone to get them so when the annual doctor’s appointments come up, or maybe just a visit to urgent care, could go much more smoothly if the nurse could just check your “tech tat” for vitals and just get on with the reason your actually there. Or maybe the phone app could be further developed to send occasional updates to your primary care doctor if you’re on a monitored health program and you don’t have time to go to the doctor for check ups every week and only needing to get called in if a change happens. Also, I can’t help but think of this hipster movie “TiMER” in which most people have an implantation on their wrist that shows them on what day they are going to meet their true love.
Okay, let’s first make this very clear: these are not actually tattoos. WHY WOULD YOU CALL THEM TATTOOS IF THEY AREN’T TATTOOS? A tattoo is ink which is inserted under the skin in an artistic fashion. These “tattoos” are just paint and circuits which are on top of the skin. If anything, they are temporary tattoos. But, let’s be honest, they are very cool. As a tattoo fanatic, I would love to get one of these just to see what it is like. It’s not permanent and so I have no qualms with getting an impulsive circuit on my skin. If they were to be permanent, I am wondering how that would affect our lives. Metal detectors and MRI scanners would be very annoying if everyone had metal bits in their bodies. Also, I’m not quite sure what their actual purpose would be if it wasn’t purely art. Are we on the verge of becoming cyborgs?
I've grown to love tattoos. I think it's a great way to express your individuality and it pretty fashionable right now. Tattoos have gotten a bad rep in the past because they don't look professional and they make people look trashy for the rest of their lives, but people are smart now to know that as long s you can cover them, they don't look as bad. Even showing your tattoos for a job seems to more allowed then it used to be. Now, with our innovation in technology, we have a tattoos that has more of a purpose and is atheistically fun. This allows that user to get a physical without going to the doctor. It records all the information the doctor needs and then send it to the doctor. Also, the tattoos don't last forever so they will go away soon. I would definitely use this if it becomes high in demand.
As neat as this sounds, I find myself wondering if it will actually be used. The idea of a fading tattoo for cancer patients is beautiful, but it can already be done with a biodegradable ink. Why should hospitals incorporate a new, and probably expensive at the start, technology? They certainly won't do it just so the patients will be more comfortable (hospitals do not care if you're comfortable, they care if you live). Plus, the large medical supply companies have too much invested into selling the big bulky monitoring equipment (also, if you're at a hospital for observation, you should probably stay there). As cool as this idea of a "tech tat" is, I doubt it will succeed in the medical business. I do, however, see it evolving into a form of communication/banking. Who needs paypal or cash (so old-fashioned) when you can scan your hand? Or tech tat your children and you'll always know where they are. Okay, so these aren't great ideas, but this technology can be developed for use in other areas, because I don't think it will succeed in the medical business.
Tech tattoos sound like a good idea, but I’m not sure about some of their uses. First off, they aren’t really tattoos: the technology required to put a circuit inside a person permanently using ink isn’t quite there. I’d love to know more about the conductive ink, as that could have some very cool applications in other places. Still, I’m not sure they have really cornered a part of the market that is necessary. I have had a fair amount of temporary tattoos in my day, and if they don’t fall off almost immediately they crack. For a conductive material in a medical application, any break in the circuit renders the monitor useless: if a person’s life is depending on their monitor functioning, it would be a huge issue. Any further medical applications will have to face this issue. Another thing to consider is the reusability factor: while a strap-on monitor can be used again and again, a person with a temporary tattoo monitor would have to purchase a new one to use every day. Chip technology may be getting cheaper, but it is still much cheaper in the long run to have a device the same size that is reusable.
I think this idea is interesting but I don't see the tech tattoo going anywhere, if it doesn't quickly fissile out in the near future. While the idea of putting circuitry on your arm for practical use is enticing, these tattoos are flawed for several major reasons. For starters they are more like decals or stickers that tattoos because they are not embedded within the skin and therefore are anything but permanent. This isn't a huge issue because the Tattoos were designed to easily be replaced, but how are these tattoos supposed to last more than a day or two with regular wear and tear? How much do they cost per tattoo? and How much electrical waste would they add if widely implemented? Also the technology that would best coincide with this idea, using the tattoos to instantly check for a patients vitals, doesn't even exist yet. So wear does this leave the tech tattoo? I don't think It'll be going anywhere anytime soon because its primary use still requires major development, and it serves very little use aesthetically as it's not permanent.
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