People with serious medical conditions that require constant monitoring have many concerns. Beyond the condition itself, these patients are often stuck wearing bulky or inconvenient equipment that can be heavy or cumbersome. If only there was a much smaller, thinner device that could serve the same function. Well, guess what? There’s a patch for that!
Well, not yet, but stick-on medical devices or “tattoos” may be coming your way quite soon. According to a report from ABC, soft, liable biostamps might be replacing the likes of pacemakers or intra-cranial electrodes in the near future.
The report cited a speech by David Icke, CEO of MC10, an electronic systems company. Icke was speaking at the TedMed Conference in Washington, DC.
Icke mentioned that these biostamps are thin and flexible, like a sticker, and can be placed on or under a patient’s skin. The medical devices can be used to monitor symptoms of an existing disease, keep track of vital signs or detect significant changes in the body.
“Imagine for your kids playing contact sports, to be able to gauge impact to their head,” Icke said, citing just one interesting potential use for the devices.
Theoretically, the tiny tattoo-like monitors have a wide range of uses. They could monitor a patient’s heart and report any irregularities through synchronization with a smartphone. Or the biostamps could be inserted into the brain of an epileptic patient in place of intrusive electrodes for the purpose of monitoring seizures.
While the gadgets are still years away from market, they might represent exciting new freedoms for patients. Often, patients who are old or ill have trouble with the size or bulk of existing products, putting even more of a strain on their already weak bodies. Plus, the small, lightweight design means they can be used to keep track of healthy patients, as well. Maybe someday soon, we’ll all sport a medical tattoo, right next to the one that say “MOM.”
Edited by
Jamie Epstein
