PENTAGON TO IMPLANT MICROCHIPS IN SOLDIERS' BRAINS
Submitted by Adam Thomas on Mon, 2007-07-30 19:49.
The Department of Defense is planning to implant microchips in soldiers' brains for monitoring
their health information, and has already awarded a $1.6 million contract to the Center for Bioelectronics, Biosensors and
Biochips (C3B) at Clemson University for the development of an
implantable "biochip".
Soldiers fear that the biochip, about the size of a grain of rice, which measures and relays
information on soldiers vital signs 24 hours a day, can be used to put them under surveillance even when they are off duty.
But Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, C3B director and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
and Bioengineering claims the that the invivo biosensors will save lives as first responders to the trauma scene could inject
the biochip into the wounded victim and gather data almost immediately.
He believes that the device has other long-term potential applications, such as monitoring
astronauts’ vital signs during long-duration space flights and reading blood-sugar levels for diabetics.
“We now lose a large percentage of patients to bleeding, and getting vital information
such as how much oxygen is in the tissue back to ER physicians and medical personnel can often mean the difference between
life and death,” said Guiseppi-Elie. “Our goal is to improve the quality and expediency of care for fallen soldiers
and civilian trauma victims.” The biochip also may be injected as a precaution to future traumas."
Clemson scientists have formulated a gel that mimics human tissue and reduces the chances
of the body rejecting the biochip, which has been a problem in the past.
The researcher predicts the biochip is five years away from human trials, and the DoD could
start implanting microchips in soldiers bodies soon after.