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According to Applied Digital Solutions (ADS), VeriChip is an implantable, 12mm by 2.1mm radio frequency device about the size of the point of a typical ballpoint pen. The company says the medical microchip contains a unique identification number that can be energised using an external scanner that emits radio waves. These waves will pass through a patient's skin, activating the chip and allowing medical professionals to gain access to the chip's unique identification number. With the ID number, medical professionals can access a patient's medical records over the Internet or through a telephone. These records would be stored in a government compliant, secure data-storage site.
The company says inserting the VeriChip device is a simple procedure performed in an outpatient, office setting. It requires only local anesthesia, a tiny incision and perhaps a small adhesive bandage. Sutures are not necessary. A spokesperson ADS told ElectricNews.Net that the company is hoping US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the device within six months, but admitted that it could take longer.
As futuristic as the procedure might sound Applied Digital Solutions points to hundreds of thousands of medical devices that are surgically implanted into patients every year. The company says examples of these life-saving and life-enhancing devices include pacemakers, artificial joints, orthopedic hardware, heart valves, and medication pumps.
The company's spokesperson also pointed out that one of ADS's subsidiaries, Destron Fearing, has been implanting similar chips in pets throughout the US and Europe, which can tell veterinary personnel whether a pet has been vaccinated for rabies and other animal diseases. Moreover, the company says that in the future it envisions applications that could include full medical record archival/retrieval for emergency medical care.
Additionally with heightened security concerns around the world, Applied Digital Solutions says the use of advanced VeriChip technology means that the threat of theft, loss, duplication or counterfeiting of data is substantially diminished or eliminated. The company has cited other non-medical applications for the technology include enhancement of present forms of identification, search and rescue, and various law enforcement and defense uses.
Applied Digital Solutions will add VeriChip to its repertoire of futuristic medical instruments which includes Digital Angel and Thermo Life. Digital Angel is a biosensor that can monitor key body functions such as temperature and pulse and transmit that data, along with accurate location information of where the patient is, to a ground station or monitoring facility. Thermo Life uses body heat to generate thermoelectric power in order to run other devices.
For more information visit www.adsx.com
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