Mishbah Pinto Chandy

Biomaterials are synthetically or biologically engineered substances that can be introduced into
the body as medical devices for evaluating, augmenting, or helping the body function properly
by replacing damaged organs.
Microchips were brought into light by well-known engineer Kevin Warwick in 1998. He
experimented with RFID implants i.e. Radio Frequency Identification. His works were used to
turn on lights, open doors, and cause verbal outputs within buildings. After nine days his implant
was removed and held in the Science Museum in London ever since.
Microchips or subdermally implanted electronic devices are devices that are implanted into the
human body internally. Each microchip has its own unique id number just as each computer has
a unique IP address which is used to link to an external database for information like name,
medical history, allergies, contact information, etc.
These implants are shaped like cylinders and they contain a tiny microchip,bio-safe epoxy
resins, with a copper antenna coil encased in lead-free borosilicate glass Schott 8625
biocompatible glass. Microchips are field-powered and have no power source. Which makes
them inert until they come within the field produced by a reader device, which implants
communicate with over a magnetic field.
Just like every coin has two sides, on one hand, microchips provide us with a digital identity,
keeps the medical records intact, and help in access control but on the other hand, it comes
along with its own concerns namely health concerns, identity theft, the risk to freedom, etc.
GPS-enabled chips can potentially in the future be used to physically locate the latitude,
longitude, altitude, and velocity. These chips could be positively used to locate missing
individuals also but, such GPS-enabled chips need further study.