Rense: FDA Letter Raises Questions About VeriChip Safety, Data Security

[Guest guest]

Now what could possibly be so " convenient " or " helpful " that we

would let ourselves be invaded and chipped first of all, or deal

with these troubling ramifications? Wouldn't a medical bracelet

suffice??

Misty

http://www..com

 

 

http://www.spychips.com/reports/verichip-fda.html

 

FDA Letter Raises Questions about VeriChip Safety, Data Security

 

FDA letter to the Digital Angel Corporation spells out potential

health risks associated with the VeriChip ID implant device. Click

here to download a PDF of the full letter. (For the passage above,

see page 3, paragraph 2.)

 

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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.