Invisible Ink Could Keep Track of Children’s Immunization Records
A group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed an innovative way to keep track of a child’s vaccinations – an injectable dye that, when held under a special cell-phone filter and near-infrared light, indicates a child has received a specific vaccination.
The research uses a patch of tiny needles called microneedles that are embedded in a “Band-Aid-like device that is placed on the skin; a skilled nurse or technician is not required,” Scientific American reported. This system “would provide quick and easy access to vaccination history, avoid the risk of clerical errors, and add little to the cost or risk of the procedure,” however, some in the industry believe this approach raises privacy concerns.
“There may be other concerns patients have about being ‘tattooed,’ carrying around personal information on their bodies or other aspects of this unfamiliar approach to storing medical records,” Mark Prausnitz, a bioengineering professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the study, said.
The work was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the study published in Science Translational Medicine. Read more here.
