The futuristic idea that microchips could be implanted under a patient's skin to control the release of drugs has taken another step forward.
US scientists have been testing just such a device on women with the bone-wasting disease osteoporosis.
The chip was inserted in their waist and activated by remote control.
A clinical trial, reported in Science Translational Medicine, showed the chip could administer the correct doses and that there were no side effects.
The innovation has also been discussed here at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
One of the designers, Prof Robert Langer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), claimed the programmable nature of the device opened up fascinating new avenues for medicine.
"You could literally have a pharmacy on a chip," he said. "This study used the device for the treatment of osteoporosis. However, there are many other applications where this type of microchip approach could improve treatment outcomes for patients, such as multiple sclerosis, vaccine delivery, for cancer treatment and for pain management."
The work is described as the first in-human testing of a wirelessly controlled drug delivery microchip. The technology at its core has been in development for more than 15 years.....
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another "good" idea to get the sheep to agree to anything, in the name of technology yet I sense alternative purpose with this Chip crap........................
..it depends on which world we are living..
it our current system where profit is over anything else, this can be dangerous, when there can be used will ill intent...
in a world, where the need for profit is absent, or to control another human has no meaning, these things can help people for sure...
but most importantly it will be better to educate people for preventing a disease to appear in the first place, and not treat it after it has happened...
so people will not have to be in a situation to use such type of chips, or any pharma-drugs, for that matter...
yes there are many other uses for this type of technology like controlling the host or tracking them etc. dont get chips or nano bots put into your bodies