Scientists working on tiny, implantable technologies to save lives

WASHINGTON — In the classic sci-fi movie “Fantastic Voyage,” a submarine and crew of scientists are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into a patient’s bloodstream. The goal, of course, is to save the patient’s life.

Today, British scientists are working on Project Proteus, named for the sub in the movie. The goal is to develop cyber/medication pills that a patient would swallow, which would be equipped with microprocessors designed to text doctors data on the medicine’s effectiveness.

Yahoo reports on nine implantable technologies that are in use or in the works.

At MIT, they’re working on implantable birth control. The chip, half the size of a fingertip, could be switched on or off by remote control and provide a woman with contraception for up to 16 years.

Brown University is using tiny electrodes implanted in the brain. A computer receives signals from the electrode taking commands directly from the brain.

In recent months the Apple wristwatch has received a great deal of attention because it’s technology that a person wears. But there is amazing technology that can be swallowed, implanted and tattooed.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have come up with a tiny mesh of computer fibers that can be tattooed on skin to monitor body systems. Other researchers figure that a chip embedded in the finger, in a tattoo-like process, can unlock doors, or perhaps log users onto computers.

An artificial pancreas is being tested at Boston University. It’s equipped with a sensor that sends data to a smartphone, from which a person can monitor their blood sugar levels.

Yahoo also reports on an artist who has had a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip embedded in his arm. The chip stores and transfers data to his smartphone.

But how do devices stay powered inside the body? Draper Laboratory is working on biodegradable batteries that wirelessly transfer power inside the body to where it’s needed.

Another inside-the-body technology that researchers are experimenting with is smart dust: Full computers, smaller than grains of sand, that might provide pain relief or fight cancer.

And there’s the so-called verified self — an implantable device with an RFID chip that could provide complete information about identity and the location of the person imbedded with the device.

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