FDA Approves Use of Chip in Patients

2 hours, 45 minutes ago
By DIEDTRA HENDERSON, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) 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 (news - web sites) 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.






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