] FDA approves implantable chips with personal medical information

[Guest guest]

Talk about scary!!@ What are they really going to do with this implantable

data chip??

(is that info going to include " compliance with recommended

vaccination schedule?)

http://.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2004-10-13-

human-microchips_x.htm?csp=1

FDA approves use of implantable data chip

By Diedtra , Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved

an implantable computer chip that can pass a patient's medical

details to doctors.

VeriChips, radio frequency microchips the size of a grain of rice,

have already been used to identify wayward pets and livestock. And

nearly 200 people working in Mexico's attorney general's office have

been implanted with chips to control access to secure areas

containing sensitive documents.

Applied Digital Solutions (ADSX) of Delray Beach, Fla., in July asked

the FDA for approval to use the implantable chip for medical uses in

the United States. The agency had 60 days to reply.

In morning trading Wednesday, Applied Digital shares were up 92 cents

at $3.04 on the Nasdaq Stock Market - near the middle of their 52-

week range of $1.94 to $5.

It's the first time the FDA has approved the use of the device,

though in Mexico, more than 1,000 scannable chips have been

implanted. The chip's serial number pulls up the patients' blood type

and other medical information.

With the pinch of a syringe, the microchip is inserted under the skin

in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and leaves no

stitches.

Silently and invisibly, the dormant chip stores a code - similar to

the identifying UPC code on products sold in retail stores - that

releases patient-specific information when a scanner passes over the

chip.

At the doctor's office those codes stamped onto chips, once scanned,

would reveal such information as a patient's allergies and prior

treatments.

The FDA in October 2002 said that the agency would regulate health

care applications possible through VeriChip. Meanwhile, the chip has

been used for a number of security-related tasks as well as for pure

whimsy: Club hoppers in Barcelona, Spain, now use the microchip much

like a smartcard to speed drink orders and payment.

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