STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have created technology capable of storing medical information below your skin’s surface
- The new technology, demonstrated in a proof of concept study in rats, involves dissolvable microneedles that deliver near-infrared light-emitting microparticles into the skin
- The dye is made of quantum dots, which are nanocrystals, that emit near-infrared light that can’t be seen by the naked eye, but a modified smartphone could be used to scan and view them
- It’s unclear whether consent is required prior to the dye being injected, however, the fact that the identifier will be given along with a vaccine patch suggests one won’t be given without the other
