A consortium of experts from Scotland and Sweden claims to have struck a blow against one of the biggest drawbacks to visiting sunny foreign climes, sunburn.
Every year, thousands of poorly prepared holidaymakers succumb to the painful and potentially dangerous effects of soaking up too much sun, not only abroad, but also on those rare sunny intervals in the UK. Now, researchers from the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland, have teamed up with Swedish organisation, Intellego Technologies, to create a wristband that warns sunbathers when they are about to enter the danger zone.
The paper wrist monitor changes colour when exposed to varying amounts of Ultra-Violet radiation, the harmful content of light beams emitted by the sun’s rays. In prolonged sunlight, the narrow band changes from its yellow starting colour, to pink, alerting the wearer that they should consider covering up or taking shelter. The developers of the band are confident that its sensitivity to UV radiation can be tweaked so that they can produce different bands for different skin types.
According to reports, the inventors believe that as their band is disposable after use, they would be unlikely to market it for more than £0.10.
Reported in the Daily Mail, Claes Lindahl, the founder of Intellego Technologie, said, ‘We are very excited about the UV dosimeter technology and we look forward to developing it further and commercialising it. There is a substantial need out in the market for a functional UV dosimeter and we look forward to continuing the process.’