Wearable bioelectronics with emphasis on the research and development of advanced person-oriented biomedical devices have attracted immense interest in the past decade. Scientists and clinicians find ...it essential to utilize skin-worn smart tattoos for on-demand and ambulatory monitoring of an individual's vital signs. Here, we report on the development of ultrathin platinum-based two-dimensional dichalcogenide (Pt-TMDs)-based electronic tattoos as advanced building blocks of future wearable bioelectronics. We made these ultrathin electronic tattoos out of large-scale synthesized platinum diselenide (PtSe
) and platinum ditelluride (PtTe
) layered materials and used them for monitoring human physiological vital signs, such as the electrical activity of the heart and the brain, muscle contractions, eye movements, and temperature. We show that both materials can be used for these applications; yet, PtTe
was found to be the most suitable choice due to its metallic structure. In terms of sheet resistance, skin contact, and electrochemical impedance, PtTe
outperforms state-of-the-art gold and graphene electronic tattoos and performs on par with medical-grade Ag/AgCl gel electrodes. The PtTe
tattoos show 4 times lower impedance and almost 100 times lower sheet resistance compared to monolayer graphene tattoos. One of the possible prompt implications of this work is perhaps in the development of advanced human-machine interfaces. To display the application, we built a multi-tattoo system that can easily distinguish eye movement and identify the direction of an individual's sight.
Why do people put indelible marks on their bodies in an era characterized by constant cultural change? How do tattoos as semiotic resources convey meaning? What goes on behind the scenes in a tattoo ...studio? How do people negotiate the informal career of tattoo artist? The Social Semiotics of Tattoos is a study of tattoos and tattooing at a time when the practice is more artistic, culturally relevant, and common than ever before. By discussing shifts within the practices of tattooing over the past several decades, Martin chronicles the cultural turn in which tattooists have become known as tattoo artists, the tattoo gun turns into the tattoo machine, and standardized tattoo designs are replaced by highly expressive and unique forms of communication with a language of its own. Revealing the full range of meaning-making involved in the visual, written and spoken elements of the act, this volume frames tattoos and tattooing as powerful cultural expressions, symbols, and indexes and by doing so sheds the last hints of tattooing as a deviant practice. Based on a year of full-time ethnographic study of a tattoo studio/art gallery as well as in-depth interviews with tattoo artists and enthusiasts, The Social Semiotics of Tattoos will be of interest to academic researchers of semiotics as well as tattoo industry professional and artists.
Over the past 20 years, tattoos have become extremely popular in Western countries. In Germany for instance, 8.5% of the population (aged between 14 and 90 years) have tattoos. Trends in France are ...similar according to a recent poll (10%). However, tattoos are becoming increasingly common among the young, involving up to 25%, according to the individual country. Reasons for getting a tattoo are plentiful and personal. There is no specific profile of tattooed individuals nowadays but a rather wide spectrum of different types. Herein, we review the epidemiology of tattooed individuals in the light of the most recent publications on the subject.
Objective
The objective of this study was to determine the safety of tattoos in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
Methods
Patients (N = 147; ≤55 years; 92% women) were asked if they ...had tattoos. The characteristics of the tattoos and the immediate complications were investigated and compared with those of a matched control group. We examined retrospectively after the tattoo was completed whether there had been flare-ups or increased organ damage (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American Collage of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI)). Finally, we compared the SLE-related characteristics of patients with and without tattoos.
Results
Twenty-eight patients (19%, 26 women, median (interquartile range) age 33 (25–42) years, 65 tattoos in total) had ≥1 tattoo. At the time the tattoo was done the median (interquartile range) SLEDAI and SDI were 2 (0–2) and 0 (0–1), respectively. The characteristics of the tattoos were similar to those of controls. No patients experienced acute complications. After a median follow-up of 17 (12–20) months (3 (2–4) visits/year) four patients had five mild-to-moderate flare-ups. The median time between the tattoo and the flare-up was 9 (6–14) months. No increase in SDI was observed. The SLE-related characteristics of patients with and without tattoos were similar.
Conclusion
Tattoos seem to be safe in SLE patients with inactive or low active disease.
: Although tattooing is an ancient practice, its increasing popularity and social acceptance, variability of tattoo ink composition, sporadic reports of novel tattoo reactions and advances in the ...field of tattoo removal techniques make it a topic of immense interest among dermatologists and pathologists alike. Since effective legislation governing the tattoo industry is largely lacking in most regions of the world, it is important to recognize the range of tattoo-related complications from a dermatopathological perspective. Using a pattern-based approach, this review details the broad spectrum of inflammatory reactions, which may be encountered in adverse reactions associated with tattooing. Awareness of the range of inflammatory tattoo reactions is crucial as some of these patterns of inflammation can be associated with systemic disorders and others may serve as important clues for an underlying infective condition.
We present a proof-of-concept demonstration of an all-printed temporary tattoo-based glucose sensor for noninvasive glycemic monitoring. The sensor represents the first example of an easy-to-wear ...flexible tattoo-based epidermal diagnostic device combining reverse iontophoretic extraction of interstitial glucose and an enzyme-based amperometric biosensor. In-vitro studies reveal the tattoo sensor’s linear response toward physiologically relevant glucose levels with negligible interferences from common coexisting electroactive species. The iontophoretic-biosensing tattoo platform is reduced to practice by applying the device on human subjects and monitoring variations in glycemic levels due to food consumption. Correlation of the sensor response with that of a commercial glucose meter underscores the promise of the tattoo sensor to detect glucose levels in a noninvasive fashion. Control on-body experiments demonstrate the importance of the reverse iontophoresis operation and validate the sensor specificity. This preliminary investigation indicates that the tattoo-based iontophoresis-sensor platform holds considerable promise for efficient diabetes management and can be extended toward noninvasive monitoring of other physiologically relevant analytes present in the interstitial fluid.
The purpose of this work was to review the scientific evidence about dermatological and ophthalmological inflammatory, infectious, and tumoral tattoo-related reactions published in the literature.
We ...conducted a literature search from January 1, 2000 to July 15, 2020 in MEDLINE, COCHRANE, EMBASE, and LILACS. Limits regarding the language and period of publication were used. A data collection form was designed in Excel. Four reviewers independently extracted relevant details about the design and the results of each study.
One hundred four studies were included, most of them were conducted in Europe and North America. The remaining studies were conducted in Asia, South America, Africa, and Oceania. We included 52 case reports, 21 cross-sectional studies, 20 case series, 10 case-control studies, and 1 cohort study. Eighty-six studies described skin tattoos, of which 7 were publications of eyebrow tattoos and 6 of eyelid tattoos, and 5 articles included cases of subconjunctival tissue tattoos (eyeball). Fifty-seven studies described local reactions related to tattoos and 47 studies reported systemic reactions or reactions in different locations from the tattoo site. The types of reactions described in the studies were: infections in 45 studies, inflammatory reactions in 53 studies, neoplasia in 4 studies, and hypertrichosis in 2 studies.
This literature review evidenced a close relationship between the application of tattoos on dermatological and ophthalmological tissues, and the possible immunological complications, neoplasms, and infectious complications. Dermatologists and ophthalmologists should be aware of the consequences caused by even small amounts of ink applied on skin and eyes, generating the need for strict regulations for its use.
PDF
