The future may soon find Harley-Davidson geeks with calculators embedded in their forearms. Inventor Andrew Singer, however, had medical uses in mind for his recent patent, a programmable "tattoo."
The chip implant's LCD readout is visible through the skin. "Medical biosensing," says Singer, "is increasingly practical for chronic and acute conditions" such as diabetes, where the device could read insulin levels. "This could save precious time in an emergency."
So when can you get one? No time soon, says Singer's employer, Interval Research. A secretive R&D firm owned by Paul Allen, Interval claims no commercial aspirations for the patent.
"We study about 20 to 25 high tech areas, one of which is wearable computers," shrugged a company spokesperson.
