Health @ Heart
Human Bar Code
(Miniaturized Implantable Micro-Chip)
First of two parts
Bar codes for commercial products and services are today a standard armamentarium of the business world. Its use has transformed daily transactions, inventory, record-keeping, accounting, auditing, budgeting, projections, etc. into simpler, more accurate, faster, more efficient, and time-saving endeavors.
A very impressive example on how the use of bar codes has made life a lot easier for all of us every day is grocery shopping or doing purchases in stores in general. Today, we zip through the counters a lot speedier compared to manual counter-checks of yesteryears.
However, "human bar coding" is totally another matter. The idea of implanting a microchip into a person, whose personal identity data and sensitive private information are on the chip (which could also pinpoint the exact real-time location of the wearer) is creating a lot of controversy. There is concern among various sectors of society that this "human bar coding" would curtail individual civil liberties and violate the person's constitutional freedom and right to privacy, confidentiality, security and safety. There is also the fear that this technology could be used by unscrupulous people or criminals, by competing corporations, or even by some agencies in the government, for illegal information gathering or surveillance, or for some immoral objectives.
Is there such microchip today?
Yes, it is no longer science fiction. Available today, the implantable micro-chip radio frequency identification device (RFID) is inert (does not cause adverse reaction on contact with human tissues), encapsulated, the size of a grain of rice or the tip of a ballpoint pen (12 mm by 2.1 mm) that is powered and transmits information when activated by a chip reader. It is tamper-proof, practically undetectable and indestructible, and is implanted under the skin.
What is it made of?
The micro-chip is tiny (transmitter-computer) chip that has a special polyethylene sheath that encloses it, which makes the skin and subcutaneous tissue adhere to it, causing a tissue envelope around the chip and preventing the chip from migrating. It contains no chemical or battery. The chip is dormant until activated by a small radio frequency energy from a proprietary scanner. The chip never runs down and has a life expectancy of 20 years.
How is the chip implanted?
The chip is small enough to fit inside a special "intravenous needle" introducer. It is inserted using a syringe-type inserter, which comes with the chip preassembled and sterile. It is injected much like a regular injection into the area under the skin in the fleshy part of the inner aspect of the upper arm. A little sting is felt by the recipient during the insertion. No anesthetic agent is needed.
Any possible health complications?
The micro-chip acts like any foreign body when implanted under the skin, much like a large a sliver or splinter. It causes foreign body reaction and scar formation around (encapsulating) it, a natural body defense mechanism to isolate the foreign body. Unless the person is extremely allergic to the material and "rejects" it, which would be rare, the implant should not cause any complication.
Is it practical? Is RFID compatible with other security devices? Who makes these implantable micro-chips? What's the future of implantable micro-chips? Find out in the second installment of this article.
(Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com)