The Lantern Implant

Hi guys! This is the new thread for the rechargeable phosphorescent implant I'm developing. I have decided to name it the lantern implant, just so we have something to call it.

Similar to the firefly tattoo, the lantern will glow through the skin where it is implanted. The difference comes with the use of europium glow powder instead of a tritium vial to produce the light. Unlike the firefly, the lantern will need to be charged by a light source such as a flashlight to emit light. Once charged, which takes a minute or so, the powder glows for about 30 minutes. It is very bright at first then slowly diminishes over time.

Here is an album of the first one I made, I may make them slightly shorter since they can contain so much powder in order to be even more robust. The glass is good name brand Corning borosilicate (Pyrex)

Currently I have not implanted one yet, I will test on myself as soon as I have some time off of work and I find the courage to do it.

I have talked to a vender about syringes and should be receiving a sample batch in the next month or two. It would be very easy for me to just make the implant itself and send it out unsterilized for traditional implantation, but it will take me some time to work out the sterilized package inside the syringe.

Let me know what you think!
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Comments

  • That's funny. I just made one the other night. Yeah, these new pigments are amazingly bright aren't they?
  • I was playing at first with borosilicate tubing, but I've found a better method to be mixing the pigment with a resin. What you can do is is mix up the resin with the pigment and put it in a mold. After it hardens, you add an additional biocomp resin over that. This way you can create whatever design you want.
  • I didn't notice a link to the album on the first post here.

    https://imgur.com/a/vcyHt

    I look forward to see how these work when implanted. The resin idea sounds like a good idea too.

  • edited March 2018

    I'd definitely buy a few if the implant trials are promising. Have any idea what the pricing on these would look like?

    Also, I love the aqua.

    @Cassox said:
    I was playing at first with borosilicate tubing, but I've found a better method to be mixing the pigment with a resin. What you can do is is mix up the resin with the pigment and put it in a mold. After it hardens, you add an additional biocomp resin over that. This way you can create whatever design you want.

    Do you think we could eventually 3D print molds for these and cheaply create custom glowing implants?

  • If you could somehow pair it with one of those rf powered led I would be in
  • I'm going to try them on magnets tomorrow. I doubt it will be enough to get an effect.
  • Judging by the glow on the tattoo I did with the powder, I would expect it to be visible in very dark locations. You will likely have to purposely charge it by holding a bright light (flashlight or black light) right against the implant. Even with the tattoo, which wouldn't be as deep as an actual implant, just normal room lighting isn't enough to charge it.

    The glass tubes and the magnet coating would probably have a lot more powder than I got in my skin and be closer together so hopefully the results are brighter and longer lasting. I look forward to hearing the test results.

    1. Riffing off of @Cassox 's idea, I wonder if the glow powder could be mixed into silicone or parylene to make a shaped, flexible glow in the dark implant. It would be brighter than the tattoo because you could add more powder, though perhaps not as bright as a similarly-sized Lantern, and it could be made into larger implants similar to Steve Haworth's shaped silicone implants.
    2. Are firefly tattoos bright enough to charge the europium powder? A firefly (or a few!) could be embedded in glow-powder-impregnated silicone to keep the glow powder charged, and to disperse the light from the firefly throughout the polymer.
    3. I don't know a lot about fiber optics, but based on my limited understanding, optical fibers could be suspended inside of silicone or parylene (assuming they're not biosafe on their own), and conduct light through an implant. That way, one could have a shaped implant that lights up at specific locations (e.g. christmas tree with lights), perhaps powered by a Firefly or Lantern.
  • @FireBreathingReptile said:
    2. Are firefly tattoos bright enough to charge the europium powder? A firefly (or a few!) could be embedded in glow-powder-impregnated silicone to keep the glow powder charged, and to disperse the light from the firefly throughout the polymer.

    The way glow-in-the-dark powders work is by storing energy and remitting it. You could charge it with a firefly, but the light coming out the powder would not be brighter than the light coming out of the firefly (in fact, there would be some loss) so this can't work. I suppose if you charged it with a flashlight first the addition of the firefly might make it last longer, but I doubt it would really make a significant difference.

  • edited August 2018
    @Cassox what resin are you using for your testing and if possible do you have a link to buy it
  • Hey @Johnny3D

    Still working on this? I just purchased some of that Eu:SrAl2O4 glow powder and was pleasantly surprised. A few seconds of UV exposure kept it illuminated for a few minutes. I would love to try making an implant with it.

  • I have also picked up a couple different varieties of glow powder, and experimenting around, I love how much more light output phosphorescent powders can do, compared to my extracted V2 firefly in the dark.

    This isn't anywhere on my list of things to do anytime soon, but watching for anything that happens here hehe

  • Helyx got two of them at gf.
  • Excellent news. I look forward to seeing how much exposure they get through the skin. I know infrared travels through skin basically unhindered, but UV not so much.
  • I'm super into this idea, but I'm wondering how to sterilize the implant if I made my own? Are there any hazards involved in certain sterilization methods when working with resin?

  • Hey lads, I just stumbled upon this post, is there anyone out there who has the capabilities of making a couple (like 4) of those to implant? Sterilization is not really an issue, as long as the implant has <=3mm, I can sterilize and implant myself.

  • also interested. possibly you could build a separate light to charge the powder. Why not use glass instead of resin? If you are going to use a plastic why not use something maluable?

  • Yes. I made the originals.
  • If you'd like I can do it in a bioglass tube. That's easy.
  • I'll revisit this thread on my next lab day.. that's Wednesday. I've made a number of Led RFID light charged ones. I'd show u photos.. but they really aren't as cool as they look. The photos were taken under black light.. so optimal glow. I tried some mail blinkies Anastasia Synn gave me.. definitely didn't work. I've made other ones using just standard LEDs and such. They haven't worked well. But! I just got in a pack of ultra bright LEDs. Who knows if they'll work piggy backed onto a cheap RFID chip like I've been doing. I'm sure there's a much more elegant way but.. ah.. yeah. Not my forte. If any EE wants to come live at the lab and build cool things I can encase in jewelry.. let me know. I just got in an injection molder. Ahh yeah.
  • LEDs that require a special charger have sorta been done. Dangerous Things has his Xled. Charges with an nfc reader but has no real battery. Aluminium Stromanate (imigine I spelled that right) lasts a while and just needs light.
  • edited May 2020
    Sure, I'll gladly take Bioglass (Pyrex I presume?) ones off your hands. :)
    Oh yeah, there's a couple of guys over at the DangerousThings forums trying to build a bracelet to keep the 13.56 MHz xLED charged (myself included).
  • Yeah. I'm well aware of the XLED. They don't require a special charger. They just need to be placed near an appropriate coil. I'm not bad mouthing this product in anyway. I mean, I can easily do glowing tubes which are charged by an external light source in glass. I can't fit an LED in it. Or at least not one I've rigged up.
  • Yeah, as I at least tried to say, they're trying to rig together a wearable of some kind to continuously have the xLED glow. (Or have it glow when inducting energy)
    And yes, whilst both versions of "glowy bits under your skin" are pretty appealing, I'd like some version of passive glow until the more contollable version is available. ;)
  • Ughll. Family emergency.. but yeah. I have some stuff finished and some other stuff nearly finished.
  • @Cassox could i buy some bioglass ones from you as well?
  • Sorry! Things have been a bit crazy. I actually started on the new batches. I have a total of 30 3mmx1mm pellucid finger magnets. I didn't have a chance to break out the glass stuff but I will. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the bioglass style lanterns to be honest. Sealing the bioglass requires high temp so it may ruin the coils. I'll have some pics up tomorrow. I'll post them here.
    Now, yes I am willing to sell these. I've made and inserted magnets for the last 6 years or so... But I want more input. What would you guys like to see most? I can do multiple colors.. it just won't be as bright. M going to also try out the high power LEDs. They won't fit in glass... But I can combine it with a pigment, magnets, etc.. to make a multifunction unit. Let me get some pics up and I'll go into it more.
  • No rush man, take your time. So if the bio glass doent work, would you use the resin method instead? if you do the resin, would you be able to embed megnets in it? i guess that might block some of the light but could be interesting to try. Also wondering if you have tried making the back of the implant refective so that all of the light is focused outwards rather than being absorbed into the body.
  • also do you have a website where you are selling the magnets you just made?
  • Kindof, although it's in shambles and the order function is turned off. Augmentationlimitless.com
    I'll fix it soon. I know. I'm a terrible businessman. I truly am. I just find all the wetwork and coating tech to be so much more interesting. I'll be honest.. I have no idea how like thought emporium has time for the content he has. Like, do you sleep man?
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