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FDA Letter Raises Questions about VeriChip Safety, Data Security
Think it's completely safe to inject an RFID transponder into your flesh? Think again. Although the FDA approved the VeriChip implant last week, their approval does not mean the device is completely safe, according to an FDA letter CASPIAN has obtained. The letter, dated October 12, 2004, was sent to Digital Angel Corporation and outlines a number of potential health risks associated with the device. Among the potential problems the FDA identifies are: "adverse tissue reaction," "migration of the implanted transponder," "failure of implanted transponder," "electrical hazards" and "magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] incompatibilty." Not to mention the nasty needle stick from the "inserter" used to inject it. (The FDA lists "failure of inserter" -- a bloody possiblity we'd rather not contemplate -- among the risks.) To read the FDA's letter for yourself, download the PDF and refer to Page 3, Paragraph 2. Of the numerous risks listed, MRI incompatibility is perhaps the most serious. An MRI machine uses powerful magnetic fields coupled with pulsed radio frequency (RF) fields. According to the FDA's Primer on Medical Device Interactions with Magnetic Resonance Imaging Systems, "electrical currents may be induced in conductive metal implants" that can cause "potentially severe patient burns." Presumably, VeriChip-MRI incompatibility means that doctors will be unable to order this potentially life-saving diagnostic procedure for patients with VeriChip implants, unless the patient undergoes a surgical procedure to remove the VeriChip first.  In addition to
health risks, the FDA's letter identifies "compromised data
security" as one of the concerns associated with the VeriChip. It
appears that not only could someone use a reader device to capture
the information from an implanted VeriChip, but they could use that
information to create a cloned chip with the same functionality. (Of
course, criminals lacking RF engineering skills might be tempted to
take a more direct route and simply gouge the device out of their
victims' arms instead.)If that's not enough to convince you to "say no" to the VeriChip, how about knowing your VeriChip implant can be read whenever you pass through a doorway equipped with a special VeriChip "portal scanner"? The image at right comes from a company called "Find Me, LLC," a value-added reseller of VeriChip technology based in Louisiana. The company also sells a handheld reader, which presumably anyone can use to read VeriChip data. That's quite a lot of potential harm for something supposedly designed to help patients.  If you're looking
for a secure, non-invasive way to alert medical professionals to
your health history, we recommend the MedicAlert
bracelet as a safe alternative to the VeriChip. Given the
MedicAlert's 48-year track record, all emergency health providers
know to look for it. It costs far less
and has none of the serious health risks associated with an
implanted computer chip.
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CASPIAN
Special Report, October 19, 2004