George Orwell was right...This COULD get ugly..

[Muckmaw1]

Applied Digital (ADSX) today said that its VeriChip, an implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip for human use, has been cleared by the FDA for medical uses in the United States. The FDA clearance follows the completion of a de novo application review.


So where do we start?

Do we implant everyone at birth?

Do we implant immigrants?

Certain ethnic groups?

Can parents implant their kids in case of abduction?

This is going to be a hot debate.

[Torque]

I'm not partial to implants, ripples and all.

Mr Happy does a dive.

[AWMac]

Shhhhhh..... we've been doing this for years now.....and Al Gore is the Mother Ship.

[Maverick]

Originally posted by Torque
I'm not partial to implants, ripples and all.

Mr Happy does a dive.

Yeah buit it's a very low altitude dive with little disturbance on impact.........

[vorticon]

first: what does it do? is it just some kind of identifier chip, or can you actually track someone with it?

if its the first choice then i would only be comfortable in its use as a way for people with certain medical problems to notify the doctor (but those bracelet dealies work just as good)

if its the second, then i would only be comfortable with its use as a way to keep an eye on senile people.

[Martlet]

Originally posted by vorticon
first: what does it do? is it just some kind of identifier chip, or can you actually track someone with it?

if its the first choice then i would only be comfortable in its use as a way for people with certain medical problems to notify the doctor (but those bracelet dealies work just as good)

if its the second, then i would only be comfortable with its use as a way to keep an eye on senile people.

I've heard of several avenues they were looking at taking this.  One is medical.  Imagine being able to carry your entire medical history with you all the time.  While that's no big deal for most of use, it could be a life saver to someone with serious problems.

Another thing I remember reading about is banking info.  Something like an implanted debit card.

[Preon1]

About VeriChip™
VeriChip is a miniaturized radio frequency identification device (RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, financial, emergency identification and other applications. About the size of a grain of rice, each VeriChip product contains a unique verification number and will be available in several formats, some of which will be insertable under the skin. The verification number is captured by briefly passing a proprietary scanner over the VeriChip. A small amount of radio frequency energy passes from the scanner energizing the dormant VeriChip, which then emits a radio frequency signal transmitting the verification number. In October 2002, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that VeriChip was not a regulated device with regard to its security, financial, personal identification/safety applications but that VeriChip's healthcare information applications are regulated by the FDA. VeriChip Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions.

Don't worry about government abuse.  This thing is just like the ID implants they put in pets.  They don't activate unless you have the scanner just a few inches away from it.  Right now, they're only complex enough to send back a 32 bit static responce.  So all you could do is be given a number that could be referenced with an online database.

It would be impractical to use them as a government mandated form of ID because the chip can't transmit personal info like a name or a picture which would make the chips VERY easy to duplicate.  The fake ID's could be sold on eBay and injected by anybody with access to the same stuff they give vets and animal shelters.

[Muckmaw1]

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 said it would give away $650 scanners to roughly 200 trauma centers around the nation to help speed its entry into the health care market.


A company spokesman would not say how much implanting chips would cost for humans, even though chips have been implanted in some, including Scott R. Silverman, the company's chief executive officer.


The company is targeting patients with diabetes, chronic cardiac conditions, Alzheimer's disease (news - web sites) and those who undergo complex treatments like chemotherapy, said Dr. Richard Seelig, Applied Digital Solutions' vice president of medical applications.


It's the first time the FDA (news - web sites) has approved medical 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