Electronic tattoo against stressful work: It gives an alarm when you work too much

A device that monitors brain activity and sounds an alarm when you're working too hard could come in handy for people in stressful jobs, scientists have reported. The "temporary" tattoo in question monitors brain waves and alerts people when it detects they're working too hard or not hard enough.

According to The Times, the device is placed on the forehead and face. Designed to detect when the brain is under pressure and strain, the device uses a technique known as electroencephalography to monitor electrical activity in the brain. The device also tracks eye movements.

The researchers who developed the device think it could be particularly useful in fields such as air traffic control or medicine.

"Technology is evolving faster than human evolution. Our brain capacity cannot keep up and can easily become overloaded. There is an optimum mental load for optimum performance that varies from person to person," said Nanshu Lu, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Currently, people’s mental workload is measured by the “NASA Task Load Index”. In this index, employees, including astronauts, are asked to answer questions in a survey after completing a task. While this provides insight into the subject, it only provides data after the task is completed. The “electronic tattoo” that has been developed aims to provide continuous and real-time data.

Co-author of the study and academic at the University of Texas, Luis Sentis, explained in his assessment of the subject that they monitored the physical health of the workers for a long time, and tracked injuries and muscle strains.

“We now have the ability to track mental strain that hasn’t been tracked,” Sentis said. “This could fundamentally change the way organizations in general manage the well-being of their workforce.”

The device consists of a small battery that is worn behind the ear, and paper-thin sensors designed with loops and coils that fit comfortably on the skin and move with it. This is how the sensors can measure electrical activity in the brain.