You can now be like your dog. A company called Applied Digital has received FDA approval to start selling an RFID tag that will be implanted in humans.
The uses listed are fairly innocuous — tracking people in hospitals with complex diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
The company is targeting the devices at patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other conditions requiring complex treatment.
Medical data is not stored on the devices, also known as radio frequency identification chips. Rather, it’s stored in a database that links the chips’ unique serial numbers with patient data. In its review, the FDA carefully studied the privacy issues around the technology, specifically the risk that medical records could be improperly disclosed, according to Applied Digital.
Here’s what the thing looks like:
It’s implanted in the fatty tissue of the arm.
And check this out from the same article:
Applied Digital…also markets the VeriChip as an authentication tool for use in building security and to complete financial transactions. The attorney general of Mexico and 200 people on his staff have already been implanted with the company’s chips as part of an effort to control access to areas where confidential documents are kept.
Well pretty nifty, eh? One more step in the Brave New World of RFID, something I’ve highlighted occasionally in this blog.
Alex Eckelberry