RDIF Tags

6 Pages 1399 Words

The RDIF Microchip
Smaller than a dime, this little electronic capsule could be one of the biggest technological advances in how we share and store our private medical records. It may also be one of the most controversial. It is a microchip implanted under a person’s skin called the VeriChip, and is then scanned with a special reader device to reveal important medical information about the person. The Florida-based company, Applied Digital, makes the VeriChip and hopes that the implant will revolutionize how doctors obtain medical information, mainly in emergency situations. Basically, if a person can’t speak, the emergency medical personnel could just scan that person and quickly be linked to a database that would provide critical information on the patient’s identity, blood type, drug allergies, and medical conditions. These chips also bring up much controversy with privacy rights. It also has many other non-medical uses.
RDIF tags have been around for over 50 years, although many of them are larger, battery powered and actively transmit data carried on their chips. Over the last decade, smaller, cheaper passive chips have been developed that only release information when scanned and these chips are now poised to invade many aspects of our lives. “The technology is coming to the forefront,” says Dan Mullen, president of Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility, a trade group based in Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Most people are unaware that they are already using RFID tags. They use them in security badges that allow access to buildings, or in keys that communicate with a car to allow only the driver in. Many companies are also starting to use the chips to track goods shipped from manufactures to their destination, helping them keep precise track of where items are and avoid them being lost in shipping or warehouses. These tags are routinely implanted in pets, so they can be identified if they are...