X-Message-Number: 24807
From: "James Clement" <>
Subject: MSNBC - FDA approves computer chip for humans
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 17:49:06 -0400


COULD THIS BE USED BY CRYONICS PATIENTS TO PROVIDE ALL OF THE CONTACT & 
PROCEDURE DETAILS TO ATTENDING PHYSICIANS IN THE EVENT OF DEATH?




WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved an 
implantable computer chip that can pass a patient's medical details to doctors, 
speeding care.


     

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 access 
secure areas containing sensitive documents.


Delray Beach, Fla.-based Applied Digital Solutions 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 to the "de novo" application.


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 in patients. 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.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6237364/<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6237364/>

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