Health info tattoo wins Intel Make It Wearable award

By Stu Robarts

May 8, 2014

 A proposed invisible tattoo that contains our health information has won round 2 of Intel'...
A proposed invisible tattoo that contains our health information has won round 2 of Intel's Make It Wearable competition Visionary Track
Intel has announced the winner in the second round of the of its Make It Wearable contest, Visionary Track. Student, maker and DIY enthusiast Mael Flament proposed an invisible tattoo that contains our health information. Med. History 2.0 would be easily scanned and updated regularly.

Flament, based in the US, was also a finalist in the first round of the competition with his Peltier Jacket. The jacket was proposed as a means of charging mobile devices using heat from the human body converted into electricity.

Med. History 2.0 suggests using "an RFID of sorts" that is printed into our skin and is viewable only under black light. The tattoo would contain information such as our our blood type, medical problems and history, prescriptions and prior surgeries. It would also be constantly updated with data about what prescriptions have been taken and what has been eaten that day. This ability to monitor the health of individuals via a tattoo is similar to the previously featured graphene tooth sensor or the University of California developed metabolic monitoring tattoo.

Immediate access to all this information by medical professionals in case of, say, an accident or health problem would ensure that the best possible treatment could be provided and would minimize the risk of blood transfusions errors, allergic reactions to medication or dangerous reactions to drugs.

Flament stresses that only identification and health information should be stored in the tattoo so as to ensure equal treatment for all. No info should be included that might provide a means by which individuals could get preferential treatment, such as insurance or financial details.

In addition to being featured on the Make It Wearable website, Flament and the other winners in the Visionary Track will be invited to the Final Gala event with travel and accommodation included and will receive US$5,000. Three further rounds of the Visionary Track will be announced, with the winners of round 3 set to be announced on May 26. The Development Track of the competition, which looks at developing existing products for market, opens on May 13.

Gizmag contacted Flament for further information about how the tattoo would work, but could not get a response.

The video below provides an overview of Flament's Med. History 2.0 tattoo.

Source: Intel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjoVs6r2YHM