MIT’s new Smart Tattoo is like having a doctor on your arm
Wearables might not have taken off as much as anyone hoped but companies are still experimenting with new technologies that help us monitor and track our health better than before.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2018) 'MIT’s new Smart Tattoo is like having a doctor on your arm', 311 Institute, 12 January. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/mits-new-smart-tattoo-is-like-having-a-doctor-on-your-arm/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
Apparently there’s a common problem with health-tracking devices like smart watches and the other things that strap around your wrist, like Fitbits and so such, and I’m not just talking about the fact that many of them have just one sensor to monitor most of your vitals which means they’re not that accurate. Or atleast that’s what a team of scientists at Harvard University and MIT, who’ve developed a new Smart Tattoo think, and if they’re to be believed then apparently the biggest problem with all of these devices is that they aren’t really attached to you which means you’re constantly left hoping your battery or your wireless connection doesn’t give out at a crucial moment.
This week the Harvard and MIT team announced they've developed a new form of smart tattoo that places health sensors directly onto your skin, no power or wireless link required.
The ink in the tattoos reacts to the chemical composition of your interstitial fluid, which lies just beneath your skins surface, and which reflects the state of your blood. In one demonstration of the new technology a green ink in one of the smart tattoos grows more intense to let athletes know when they're dehydrated, while another green ink turns brown to warn diabetics when their glucose levels go up, and you can probably already start seeing the tech’s advantages. And unlike that tattoo you got on a wild night in college, you're not stuck with it.
As for what’s next, well the teams plan on making tattoos that only last for as long as you want them to, as well as ones that could be invisible until they’re subjected to certain kinds of light so you don't have to explain your ink to your friends, and if you weren't sure what the symbols on your new tattoo mean, well, there’s an app for that that will tell you exactly how you're doing. So, who knows, maybe these are tattoo’s that one day even parents will approve of…
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Wearables might not have taken off as much as anyone hoped but companies are still experimenting with new technologies that help us monitor and track our health better than before.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Sources and further reading
- Harvard researchers help develop smart tattoos news.harvard.edu
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 12 January 2018. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2018). MIT’s new Smart Tattoo is like having a doctor on your arm. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/mits-new-smart-tattoo-is-like-having-a-doctor-on-your-arm/
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