Body Area Network

In pulling the many threads I've had going on in my thesis together into a cohesive argument, I've come to realize that I am far more interested in technology than I thought I was.  I'm not into it in the sense of like getting giddy over gadgets, but basically, I am extremely curious about the way that technology changes how we perceive ourselves, relate to other people, and even interpret our spirituality.  This has led me into the depths of prosthesis as both a material and metaphorical concept because prosthesis integrates technology into the body while the body accepts technology as an extension of itself, which means I'm also thinking about how pharmaceutical drugs, for example, act as an immaterial prosthetic that changes chemical balances in the brian and ultimately affect one's biology.

So that means that my research has taken an interesting direction to include books like The Prosthetic Impulse, Prosthesis, etc.  I've been fascinated with the reading on many levels, and one of the most surprising things I've learned this week is related to patents for developing technology that uses human skin as a source for transmitting data.  Woah!  I had no idea that Microsoft was awarded a patent -- no. 6,754,472 -- in 2004 for such a development!  After trying to learn more about this through a variety of Google searches, I'm finding that not a whole lot has been talked about since the patent was awarded in 2004.  Now that eight years has passed, I'm wondering if they are any closer to developing this technology and if so, how in the world would they even begin to conduct such experiments?  I guess through synthetic skin first...?  The reality, at least as far as I have access to on the internet, seems to be that only the most boring aspects of this are playing out in the real world with law suits galore regarding patent infringement.  

I'm not really a techno-enthusiast or a technophobe, but when I read this article about this type of technology being used for medicine, it kind of made me cringe.  I mean, I feel like this kind of technology lets doctors continue on the trajectory of being less concerned with overall healthcare and personal attention to patients by addressing symptoms rather than holistic problems...for example, frequent scenarios in which doctors quickly prescribe high blood pressure drugs without first prescribing a mandatory diet as a prescription.  

I guess the other thing this patent and the article in The Guardian made me think about is the boundaries of our skin and what new technology means for boundaries that were previously never really in question.  The article ends with a quote about how body parts shouldn't be patentable.  Well, if the verdict is still out on patenting body parts, they are certainly already being sold in ever more complicated markets.  I saw something earlier this year in Hobart, Tasmania that I never expected to see in a museum: Tattoo Tim.  Tattoo Tim is a living work of art who has sold his skin to be tattooed and exhibited.  He is on display at the MONA with his back to the museum-goers, and I believe he has given up his skin for museum display not only while he is living, but once he is dead.