Nokia Applies For Vibrating Tattoo Patent 97
New submitter CanHasDIY writes "Tired of waiting for the Pip-Boy or Omni-Tool to be invented? Never fear! Nokia is developing the basic technology needed to make your dreams a reality: haptic-feedback tattoos. According to the patent application, Nokia is proposing 'a material attachable to skin, the material capable of detecting a magnetic field and transferring a perceivable stimulus to the skin, wherein the perceivable stimulus relates to the magnetic field.' Basically, the process is the same as for normal tattooing; the difference is in the ferromagnetic ink. Kind of brings new meaning to the term 'embedded device,' doesn't it?"
Re:It's all nice and fine (Score:2, Interesting)
I've had MRIs (two of them, one after another), and among the checklist items beyond no metal was tattoos. Apparently they can heat up during an MRI, I was informed, when I asked why they had tattoos on the checklist form.
Now, I don't have any tattoos, but the experience was interesting enough. For those who have not been in an MRI chamber, here is my take on that: I got the head MRI done, so the rest of me was outside the chamber. Still, the main issue was that I felt I was not able to breathe in there after about three minutes. They told me the air flow was at maximum, then gave me supplemental oxygen when I told them it still wasn't enough airflow, and I was good after that. (Otherwise, they told me, I would need to get a sedative from my doctor and then return.)
Everything else wasn't even a factor, except for me mentioning it for others who have not had an MRI. The bed part isn't too hard, nor is it absolutely pillow soft, and they provide something to elevate the feet. The face shield isn't too bad it's like a football helmet mask. They offered me eye pads, but I said I wanted to be able to open and close my eyes at will, they didn't see any problems if I did open my eyes during the MRI. For me, it wasn't even the enclosed circular chamber with small diameter and no other visibility unless I would have moved my head to look at my feet (and moving the head is not allowed or it will blur the result). It wasn't even loud buzzing and grinding sounds despite having earplugs and earpads. It was just the airflow issue, and the oxygen fixed that.