I love my children dearly, but I don't understand their need to get tattoos. Their bodies are adorned with art ranging from American flags and butterflies to anchors and pirates. I've hesitated putting anything permanent on my body as my tastes have changed. For instance, I can't believe I would still be happy to have "Alice Cooper" emblazoned on my bicep.

However, there's a new form of body art that has hit the scene that tempts even tattoo virgins. The Digital Tattoo Interface is a wireless blood-fueled subcutaneously implanted display touch-screen that operates as a cell phone display.

The 2 x 4" device (tightly rolled into a tube) is inserted and then opened up inside your body to align between one's skin and muscle. Without going into too much detail, the device converts glucose and oxygen from your blood into electricity. The surfaces of the display have a matching matrix of field-producing pixels. The top surface lets you have touch-screen control through the skin. Instead of using ink, the display uses microscopic spheres. A field-sensitive material in the spheres changes their color from clear to black.

Here's where the wow factor comes in. The display lets you communicate wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices. And, as long as your blood is flowing, the device is on. However, the display can be turned off and on by pushing a small dot on your skin. When the phone rings you can turn your display on and you're able to see the "tattoo" as a digital video of the caller. When you end the call the tattoo disappears.

I'm still not fond of tattoos, but I wonder if I can get the Digital Tattoo in the shape of a Star Trek com badge and have it implanted near my left shoulder? How cool would that be?! Make it so.

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