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Posts with tag RFID

RFID implants under the skin may cause cancer

See those little blips on the picture to the right -- the ones between the thumb and index finger? Those are RFID (radio frequency identification) chips, some of which are being used as implants into humans for several kinds of tracking purposes.

If you have one, though, watch out -- those chips may cause skin cancer according to some reports this week that cited medical studies stating as much.

RFID was to become the savior of having full medical records available in many patients by a simple read of the chip using a wireless radio scanner, as those tiny chips contain a vast amount of data for their size. But then, a growing amount of tumors were found in mice which had been implanted with RFID chips. Would you trust one, regardless of the personal security implications?

Insurance companies test implant ID chip for chronic disease patients

Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey announced plans to launch a test program where they will be implanting an ID microchip in people who suffer from chronic diseases. The radio frequency identification device (RFID) microchip will include family contact information and medical history. The purpose is to give emergency room medical staff the ability to access a patient's information if they are brought to the emergency room and are unable to speak on their own.

According to the test program team, Horizon will start sending letters to patients with chronic diseases explaining the new program and inviting them to participate. The program will be cost-free and voluntary for those who wish to participate.

RFID implanted microchips in surgical sponges is one thing -- in people? I don't know.

I am taking an informal poll. Would you consent to having a microchip implanted in your right arm for the purpose of information retrieval?

Chip to prevent surgical sponge being left in patient

Did you know, statistically, that one out of every 10,000 patients who have surgery leave the operating room with a surgical sponge or other foreign object inside their body? While this type of unfortunate incidence is rare, it does happen and there are people attempting to come up with a way to make sure the odds of it happening are reduced to zero.

One solution being considered is the placement of a radiofrequency ID (RFID) chip in surgical sponges. At the end of surgery, a wand to detect the chip is waved over the patient. The wand would alert the surgical staff if a sponge has been left in the body of the patient.

The current method involves a sponge count. Sponges are counted before surgery and then counted again at the end of surgery. But, according to the researchers, counting is susceptible to human error. At this time, they are working out the cost-effectiveness of the chip in surgical sponges -- and how they would go about changing work flow in the operating room.

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