LINDA GALE NOLEN
To be chipped or not to be chipped ah tough question
Tue Aug 10, 2004 15:39
64.140.158.3

----- Original Message -----
From: LINDA GALE NOLEN - mailto:lindagale@excite.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2004 10:59 AM
Subject: To be chipped or not to be chipped ah tough question

US hospitals move closer to under the skin ID chips

Medical News Today | August 10 2004
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=11859

VeriChip, the company that makes radio frequency identification
--RFID--tags for humans,
has moved one step closer to getting its technology into hospitals.

The Federal Drug Administration issued a ruling Tuesday
that essentially begins a final review process that will determine

whether hospitals can use RFID systems
from the Palm Beach, Fla.-based company

to identify patients
and/or permit relevant hospital staff
to access medical records,
said Angela Fulcher, vice president of marketing and sales at VeriChip.

VeriChip sells 11-millimeter RFID tags that get

implanted in the fatty tissue below the right tricep.

When near one of Verichip's scanners, the chip
wakes up and radios an ID number to the scanner.

If the number matches an ID number in a database,

a person with the chip under his or her skin
can enter a secured room
or
complete a financial transaction.

Uh, and a person without the chip can.....what?

Well, folks, I'll say my good bye's here
because I will
never willingly allow them to CHIP me.


LINDY
=======================

VeriChip
VeriChip Corporation Technology That Cares™. Miniaturized, Implantable Identification Technology. ... VeriChip Corporation's ChipMobile. VeriChip™. ...

===================================

RFID tags may be implanted in patients' arms

A Market Technology Analysis of RFID Technology and Cost Report

Report Description

Key retailers are putting pressure on suppliers to use RFID tags for tighter and more cost effective inventory control. Wal-MartŪ has mandated its top 100 suppliers to fit their cases and pallets with RFID tags by 2005. The suppliers themselves are investigating RFID technology as a way to cut their own supply chain costs. Chip companies are attracted to the potential of a huge disposable mass-market for RFID tags. However, to displace conventional bar code readers, RFID technology needs to offer users a clear cost and technical advantage.

Pricing for read-only RFID tags ranges from 25 to 50 cents today and is expected to cap out at 5 cents in a few years (source: McKinsey, 2003). Current price levels make RFID tags cost effective only on merchandise in excess of $15, thereby limiting the market opportunity. As well, RFID technology, long used for higher-cost applications, must be retooled to become more robust, reliable, and tamper proof for mass market applications. A recent pilot program by the Auto-ID Center experienced an RFID tag failure rate of 3%, and only a 78% scanner reading accuracy rate.

Semiconductor Insights (SI) has analyzed 6 RFID tags from Atmel, Fairchild, HID, Sharp, and Texas Instruments. This combined analyses provides SI with a unique perspective on RFID tags and is the foundation for this report which highlights:

*
Cost and technology leaders today
*
Key design and process innovations offering chip companies a distinct cost and/or technology advantage today
*
Outstanding technical challenges to attaining the next price breakthrough

A minimum of 4 devices will be profiled.


Published: 1/2003 Report ID: 0204-00000-O-5MK-10

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