Farra and his team are working to create a future where this dosing device will also keep tabs on patients. They are turning the chip into a closed-loop system that monitors and treats conditions on its own. They have already developed a sensor that can take glucose readings: If it sensed a drastic change in levels, it could release a tailored dose. Animal trials suggest that these sensors could last for a year or so before they stop working, which is longer than many other current devices being tested. For a high-risk heart failure patient, Farra says, it might be possible for the device to monitor the heart for signs of a heart attack and release drugs to decrease damage to the heart muscle during a cardiac event.
The microchip might not be perfect for every medication. As Langer notes, high-dose drugs, such as antibiotics, probably are better administered in other ways.
Langer sees implantable drug chips as more than just a new tool for doctors and patients—they are a sign that the true "dawn of telemedicine" has arrived, he says. Remote communication with doctors and patients or remote robotic surgery might only have been a warm-up. "You can now do remote control from outside the body," Langer says.
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Add CommentA chip placed in some part of our body can serve to identify us better than any driver's license, passport or other typs of document, but besides the very low, but sure dangers of implanting it, it would be impossible avoiding that somebody gets a severe adverse effect from having a chip implanted, this would mean an absolute and irreversible loss of privacy, this kind of devices can track your geographical location in a 24 h a day, 365 days a year basis, and could be used for example, to link directly an expense you make in a cocktail bar to your bank account, without having to make nothing more than crossing a door. This can be also extremely useful in controlling terrorists, but in some way would put us in a situation too close to the one of cattle, dogs, cats and other pets.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisStop drinking milk. Milk sucks calcium out of the bones . Causing weak bones and heart disease
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOh, yes, your kid's playing with a radio-controlled race car and also gives you 365 doses of toxic media, killing you in a very horrible manner. ObamacarenotforU in action.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt takes a microchip to do this? Why not just something like a time-release capsule, an slow-dissolving, inert material inclosing droplets of medication which are released as the material dissolves?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wonder how well a system like this could be implemented to dispense insulin for diabetics? With the rate of diabetes on the increase in every sense this would be a real "Science" send.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCHECK OUT THIS RESEARCH GROUP OUT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON ... RESEARCH YOU COULD HELP WITH IF YOU HAVE A COMPUTER ROSETTA@HOME
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisImplant a microchip in my body that contains multiple doses of medication? Not on your life, pal. First, I would not trust them to do or get it right - as 'they' erred on my oral medication more than thrice; and I shudder to think of the potential ramifications that would occur if they botch something that's inside one's body.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSecondly,frequency interference is quite probable;
considering the plethora of electronic devices that
would be in the path between the "Remote Doctor" and the Microchip-implanted Patient. How does this grab ya:at every entrance to the medical facility that I patronize for medical care, there is a huge sign that instructs everyone to turn off their cellular phones prior to entering the building, to avoid the possibility of interference! Need I say more?
Thirdly; of paramount importance, is the compatibility/toxic factor of electronics with the Human body. Thinking along the lines of "electronic materials as waste" - electronic discards are categorized as "toxic waste". And, I'm not just talking about monitors - I'm referring to electronic circuit boards, electronic circuitry in general - I know for a fact that it is considered and labeled "toxic waste." So, the correlation I make here, is that something that will ultimately be categorized as toxic waste when it is no longer useful for the function it performs, is not something that I would evaluate as being suitable for implantation inside my own body! What are they thinking?
I find it absolutely incredible that the medical field deemed it appropriate or necessary that because "people can't remember to take their own medicine", that the answer is this microchip. WTF??!!! What an incredible expense and development endeavor - just because people can't remember to take their medicine, as scheduled? Now, here's an idea for those forgetful ones: perhaps they could set the "Alarm" feature in their cellular phone to remind them to take it on time. What a concept, huh?! I say the more you allow people to slack off and cater to them, the further the decline. If one has a medical condition that requires daily or multiple-times daily medication,then it is their own responsibility to care enough about participating in maintaining the regimen necessary for their own betterment.
Jgrosay (comment#1) might be on the right track - and this "for your own good" reason for implanting a chip, may be a smoke screen for a more insidious agenda.
How likely,on a scale of 0-10, would I allow one to enter my body? Zip,Zero,Zilch,Nada!