In the course of the development of medical devices, a general trend has emerged: tools are getting more miniaturized, digitized and connected than ever. While in the past, the ultimate goal of medical instruments was to somehow measure health parameters or to somehow record measurements, currently, the question is how to measure more accurately, more easily and simply by using aptly designed means.

However, the triumphant march of health sensors and wearables does not stop at creating ever tinier, more and more streamlined smartwatches or clothing clips, the next frontier for technological advancement definitely takes us the closest to the human body that we have ever been.

Digital Tattoos – Explanation

What if markings on your skin could unlock your phone or get you access to entrance doors? And what if they could also measure your blood pressure or hydration level constantly in the background only alerting you in case of values out of the normal range? Digital tattoos could act as minilabs rendering our skin an interactive display and making healthcare more invisible at the same time.

These flexible, waterproof materials impervious to stretching and twisting coupled with tiny electrodes are able to record and transmit information about the wearer to smartphones or other connected devices.

As the tiny patches can measure electrophysiological parameters, they could allow healthcare experts to monitor and diagnose critical health conditions such as heart arrhythmia, heart activities of premature babies, sleep disorders and brain activities noninvasively.