'Diabetes tattoos' may soon help monitor glucose levels!

SAN ANTONIO -- If you're a diabetic, you know how painful it is to prick your fingers every day in order to measure your blood sugar level. But there's some research being done that could put an end to that, and it comes in the form of a tattoo.

Some love the art; others think they look tough. But what about a tattoo with a purpose, one that monitors diabetes? Researchers are working on what they call a "Nano Ink Tattoo."

"They are taking particles called nano particles with a dye inside of them, and they're inserted into a skin as would be a tattoo," explained Texas Diabetes Institute Research Associate Curtiss Puckett.

Once inserted into the skin, glucose levels are detected, and the diabetic tattoo turns yellow or orange. You can only see the tattoo by positioning a device over it that reveals its color.

"The darker the color, the more lower the sugar," said Puckett. "The lighter the color the more higher the sugar."

Forty-eight-year-old Olga Martinez says the diabetic tattoo would mean less needle pricks.

"After a while, you get tired of it. It's like 'again?' It would be a lot easier to have a tattoo," Martinez told us.

San Antonio presently has approximately 250,000 diabetics.

Although he thinks the diabetic tattoo will help, Texas Diabetes Institute Research Associate Curtiss Puckett believes it will never be as accurate as the meter.

"No one will get away from the meter," said Puckett. "The meter is tried and true. It's a more accurate measure of sugar, and it's a more reliable method."

Researchers are still finalizing the nano ink tattoo. We'll let you know when this medical break-through hits the market.

http://www.woai.com/content/news/newslinks/story/Diabetes-tattoos-may-soon-help-monitor-glucose/rNtQ4XWPAUmucCsKxAQ1Tw.cspx

Graham