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Digital Angel Corporation and VeriChip Corporation have announced a joint committee to design and develop a working, implantable glucose microchip to determine glucose levels in the bodies of animals and humans, removing the need for diabetics to draw blood regularly to monitor their blood glucose level.
The committee will oversee future clinical trials in animals and humans, and is also responsible for selecting technology and marketing partners. The goal for the chip is to function inside the body for a period of at least six months.
Committee of experts
The committee is led by Dr. Howard S. Weintraub, and also includes Zeke Mejia, Digital Angel's Animal Applications Chief Technology Officer, Yuri Smirnov, Digital Angel's Animal Applications Senior Radio Frequency Engineer, Jonathan Musher, M.D., VeriChip's Chief Medical Officer, Kevin N. McGrath, Digital Angel's President and Chief Executive Officer, and Scott R. Silverman, VeriChip's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Additional members will be added from the medical and scientific communities.
Dr. Weintraub said, "Following our patent award in October 2006, we are positioned to begin development of a glucose microchip, which has the potential to revolutionise the way people with diabetes live and the medical care they receive. There are estimated to be hundreds of millions of people around the world living with diabetes, many of whom are not compliant with their care regimens due in large part to the discomfort and inconvenience of pricking their fingers numerous times per day. This chip could provide a painless way to quickly and accurately scan blood glucose levels to an external reader."
Blood watch
The problem is that checking blood glucose levels regularly is critical to properly managing diabetes. The conventional method - a finger prick - is invasive, painful and often inaccurate.
The implantable bio-sensor chip will have a passive transponder, a sensor and integrated circuitry that could allow anyone implanted with the microchip to painlessly scan it to determine their blood glucose concentration. The RFID microchip would then quickly and accurately transmit the glucose data back to a wireless scanner that displays the glucose level. The RFID chip will be powered by the scanner signal, avoiding the need for a battery.
Sources: VeriChip Corporation; Digital Angel Corporation
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