Podcast Summary: Good Life Project

Episode: Future of Medicine: Wearables and Bio-sensing Tattoos [Ep. 5]

Host: Jonathan Fields
Guests: Dr. Michael Snyder, Professor Ali Edison
Release Date: December 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this forward-looking episode, host Jonathan Fields delves into two groundbreaking areas redefining personal health: wearable technologies and biosensing tattoos. Featuring conversations with Dr. Michael Snyder (Stanford, pioneer in omics and wearables) and Professor Ali Edison (Imperial College London, innovator in biosensing tattoo technology), the episode examines how these innovations can predict illness days before symptoms, personalize lifestyle changes, and potentially shift medicine from reactive “sick care” to true health care and prevention. The discussion covers the science, technological landscape, behavioral impacts, and future ethical and logistical challenges of continuous health tracking.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Power of Omics and Personalized Data

(06:04-08:51) Dr. Michael Snyder

• Definition of Omics: Omics refers to large-scale data collection of biological molecules—genome (DNA), transcriptome (RNA), proteome (proteins), and metabolome (metabolites).
• Precision Profiling: Collecting tens of thousands of molecular measurements from blood, urine, and microbiome offers a much richer health picture than the typical “15 things” a physician might check during an annual exam.
• Early Disease Detection: Snyder’s longitudinal study of 109 people revealed 49 learned something important about their health, such as pre-cancer or heart issues, before symptoms appeared.
  • "We think these deep profiles really give you insights. I should point out these are all found pre-symptomatically..." (07:15, Snyder)

2. Wearables: The Era of Continuous Health Monitoring

(10:52-16:19, 25:11-30:44) Dr. Michael Snyder

• Transition from Sick Care to Health Care: Current healthcare only intervenes when symptoms arise. Wearables allow proactive monitoring.
  • "We could be tracking this stuff all the time and catching conditions...and then you go in and get a proper follow up..." (12:48, Snyder)
• Examples of Wearable Capabilities:
  • Heart rate/resting heart rate and heart rate variability
  • Blood oxygen, skin temperature, galvanic stress response (stress/conductance), EKG, blood glucose
  • Devices range from smartwatches, rings, hearing aids, patches
• Behavior Change Mechanisms: Seeing “live” data (like glucose spikes) can nudge people toward healthier choices.
  • "Everybody who gets to 9,500 [steps] will walk that extra 500, just to get that 10,000 milestone..." (29:36, Snyder)
• Glucose Monitoring and Individual Responses:
  • CGMs (Continuous Glucose Monitors) reveal that food responses are highly individual and often defy general dietary guidelines.
    • "It turns out some people will spike more to white rice than ice cream. It’s very personal." (22:06, Snyder)

3. Wearables Driving Preventative Health

(26:56-30:44) Dr. Michael Snyder

• Detecting Illness Before Symptoms: Subtle changes in heart rate and temperature can indicate infections (Lyme, respiratory viruses, even COVID) before a person feels sick.
  • "I first got Lyme disease because my blood oxygen dropped...all pre-symptomatically, by the way." (27:09, Snyder)
• Heart Rate Variability as a Marker: Decreased variability signals disease and could be used for early detection of infections, heart disease, even mental health markers.

4. The Next Frontier: Data, AI, and New Sensors

(30:44-34:27) Dr. Michael Snyder

• Retinal, Facial, and Voice Scanning: Non-invasive, everyday technologies may soon detect disease risk and early onset of dementia, cardiovascular issues, and more.
• Remote Blood and Metabolite Sampling: New methods can analyze thousands of molecules from a finger-prick sample mailed to a lab, giving deep insight into oxidative stress, organ health, etc.
• Behavioral and Economic Incentives for Adoption: Envisioning insurance discounts for wearing monitors; need to realign the financial logic of health care toward prevention.

5. Addressing the Drawbacks

(34:27-36:44) Dr. Michael Snyder

• Information Overload? Snyder acknowledges some may become neurotic but argues that with good education, most people will benefit.
  • "You have to educate people...and use the information in a positive way." (34:50, Snyder)

Notable Quotes

• "If you think of your health as a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, with omics, we're trying to cover 800 of these, whereas in a physician's office, you're collecting five or six."
  — Dr. Michael Snyder (07:15)
• "Nobody pays to keep you healthy...We really need to change financial incentives."
  — Dr. Michael Snyder (08:56)
• "It's nuts because we really should be tracking our health. And it's very easy, right? If you wear these rings...I have four watches, my rings, even my hearing aids..."
  — Dr. Michael Snyder (13:12)
• "The most important thing about these things is...people improve their 'time in range' just by wearing a monitor for 10 days."
  — Dr. Michael Snyder (18:42)
• "There are foods where people would say, 'these are good for you...', I would eat them and I would see a spike. So this is much more individualized than maybe we're led to believe, isn't it?"
  — Jonathan Fields (20:20)

Biosensing Tattoos: The Art of Real-Time Health

(40:23-63:12) Professor Ali Edison

1. What Are Biosensing Tattoos?

• Definition: Tattoos made with ‘smart ink’ that change color/flurorescence in response to specific biomarker levels (e.g., glucose, cortisol) in the skin.
• Visual Feedback: Allows for instant, non-invasive monitoring via simple visual inspection or smartphone app.
• Multi-Marker Potential: The ink can be tailored to measure various markers—glucose, proteins, hormones, stress markers, etc.

"We have developed a tattoo platform...these tattoos can change their color or intensity...in response to a range of target markers."
— Prof. Ali Edison (43:53)

2. How It Works and How It’s Tested

• Development & Testing Path: Lab validation → blood samples → limited animal studies → early human trials → full clinical trials.
• Visual and Digital Integration: Can use phone cameras/smartwatches to analyze tattoo and provide precise quantitative feedback.
• Example Use Case:
  • A butterfly tattoo may shift color as blood glucose rises; athletes could monitor electrolytes during training.

3. Applications Beyond Glucose

• Mental Health: Monitoring cortisol and other neurotransmitters/markers for stress, anxiety, depression in real time.
• Performance: Athletes monitoring electrolytes, hydration, or fatigue markers.

"Currently... there are 997 million people around the world who live with mental health disorders...we’re working on measuring cortisol in real-time."
— Prof. Edison (51:59)

4. Practicality, Privacy, and Ethics

• Non-Stigmatizing Options: Invisible (near-infrared) inks detectable only by devices, protecting privacy and reducing stigma.
  • "We can have invisible tattoo inks. Only your smartwatch or smartphone will be able to see the signal..." (62:25, Edison)
• Application Method: Delivered by healthcare professionals with a multi-needle device (like easy painless CGM application, not consumer tattoo shops).

5. Feedback Loops and the Quantified Self

• Immediate Biofeedback: Watch color changes as a breathing exercise reduces physiological stress—tightening the loop between action and biology.
• Preventative Possibilities: Detect physiological changes before conscious awareness/intervention is possible—potentially preventing crises.

"This really falls within the realm of what we call the quantified self movement."
— Prof. Ali Edison (55:19)

6. Timeline and Vision

• Available to Public: Estimate of 5–10 years before regulatory approval and broad market adoption.
• Scalability: Envisions multi-marker tattoos for personalized disease risk assessment, medication monitoring, and broader health support.

Section Timestamps

| Segment | Guest | Topic | Start Time | |---|---|---|---| | Episode Theme Intro | Jonathan Fields | The Future of Medicine Series & Episode Focus | 00:00 | | Precision Medicine & Omics | Dr. Michael Snyder | Personal Health Data, Deep Molecular Profiling | 06:04 | | Wearables and Early Detection | Dr. Michael Snyder | Sick Care vs. Health Care, Uptake Challenges | 08:51 | | Individualized Glucose Response | Dr. Michael Snyder | Continuous Glucose Monitoring, Eating Habits | 15:27 | | Smartwatch Capabilities | Dr. Michael Snyder | Health Parameters, Behavior Modification | 25:11 | | Future Sensor Tech/AI | Dr. Michael Snyder | Remote Sampling, New Windows on Health | 30:44 | | Data Overload? | Dr. Michael Snyder | Managing Psychology of Health Data | 34:27 | | Biosensing Tattoos Intro | Jonathan Fields & Prof. Ali Edison | Merging Art & Med Tech | 40:23 | | What Are Biosensing Tattoos? | Prof. Ali Edison | Tech Explanation, Vision | 43:53 | | Clinical Development Path | Prof. Ali Edison | Lab to Human Trials | 47:42 | | Beyond Glucose—Mental Health | Prof. Ali Edison | Cortisol Monitoring, Feedback | 51:59 | | Immersive Biofeedback & Quantified Self | Prof. Ali Edison | Real-Time Regulation | 55:19 | | Privacy and Implementation | Prof. Ali Edison | Invisible Tattoos, Delivery Mechanism | 62:25 | | Closing Vision | Prof. Ali Edison | Multi-Marker Tattoos, Timeline | 63:01 |

Memorable Moments

• Jonathan’s analogy: “If you think about your car, nobody would imagine driving without a dashboard...and yet we’re kind of doing the exact same thing with our bodies.” (12:48, Fields)
• Prof. Edison describing invisible biosensing tattoos: “We can design these devices to operate in near infrared...Only your smartwatch or your smartphone will be able to see the signal.” (62:25, Edison)
• Snyder’s multi-device enthusiasm: “My four watches, my rings, even my hearing aids...they’re sensors as well and they’re powerful.” (13:12, Snyder)
• Real-time feedback vision: “You could engage in your slow breathing and potentially visually see...markers for cortisol going down in your body.” (54:29, Fields)

Conclusion

Jonathan Fields and his expert guests provide a riveting, accessible exploration of emerging tech that will soon bring continuous, individualized health data to everyone—turning personal health from a periodic mystery into a transparent, manageable, and even beautiful part of daily life. While discussing both the promise and the cautions, the show underscores the need for alignment between incentives, privacy, and education alongside the dazzling innovation. This episode will interest anyone keen to understand how health tech will advance in the next decade—and how it might impact your own body, mind, and choices.

For more futuristic conversations, subscribe to Good Life Project.