Google's 'tattoo' gauges your health

ERJ staff report (TP)

California – Google is reportedly working on an “electronic tattoo”, which when peeled away leaves a rubber patch to help measure a user's heart rate, nutritional status, body temperature and hydration, reported AuthintMail.

They are not exactly tattoos, as there's no ink, needles or piercing of the skin – but their application is similar to those in normal tattoos.

They usually start out on a sheet of plastic, which is then applied to the skin and rubbed on from outside the plastic. Then the plastic is peeled away, leaving only a very thin, rubber patch that has a layer of flexible silicone wires.

The idea is to create an electronic device that has sensors, but is thinner than a sheet of paper and as flexible as an adhesive bandage.

According to the researchers, these tattoos attached to the chest of a patient or even a newborn baby will monitor a wide range of vital signs including heart rate, nutritional status, body temperature, hydration and breathing rate.

Google, for example, also has specific patents for an electronic tattoo which functions as a lie detector.

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Full story from AuthintMail