Helpful Advice

Verichip RFID chip approved for medical use

The Food and Drug administration has cleared the way for a chip to be placed under a persons skin to hold their medical records. The chip which is made by Applied Digital is called Verichip and is about the size of a grain of rice. This could one day help in assisting doctors as well as ambulance Paramedics in treating patient.

This approval came as a shock to some people in the RFID industry. In the past there has been RFID chips placed in cattle and pets but none ever done on humans in the United States.

The advocate groups are worried about privacy since these medical information could fall into the wrong hands. These chips have been rumored to be placed in humans in Mexico in the past but were unsure of that process. The Verichip would be placed in the triceps by using a syringe like device and they would be read using a hand held scanner either in the hospital or even in an ambulance. The chip sends out an electromatic transmission that holds a patients 16 digit identification number. The RFID hand held scanner would then read this information and would tell the doctor the patients medical history. This could save lives especially if the patient in unconscious and can not give medical and drug medication information to the doctor or the Ambulance paramedic.

There have been similar chips used around the world but for different purposes. There is over 1 million of these chips placed in pets and cattle worldwide. There is a exclusive club called the Baja Beach club in Barcelona and Rotterdam that has offered Verichip to their VIP's so they don't have to carry Identification or credit cards. The hot RFID rumor is that people like Paris Hilton have one, so do most celebrities. There is also believed to be over 1000 people in Mexico to have this chip also for medical reasons including the Mexican Attorney general Rafael Macedo.

Applied Digital stock went up a lot following the announcement of the F.D.A.'s approval. As well as shares of Digital Angel a subsidiary of Applied Digital that makes RFID tags for animals.