Female contraception could become as simple as the press of a button in 2018. A Massachusetts startup company, funded by Bill Gates, has created a tiny remote-controlled chip that can be controlled by a remote control. Clients have the option of having the chips implanted in the abdomen, upper arm or buttocks.
The chip is implanted under the skin and daily small doses of the hormone levonorgestrel. One implant holds enough of the hormone to last 16 years, a number that easily bests any other contraception method. A small current from an internal battery melts the seal around the chip temporarily, which allows a 30 microgram dose to seep out on a daily basis. The process can be switched on and off by a wireless remote. Patients could avoid the clinical procedures that are necessary to deactivate or remove other forms of contraceptive implants.
The startup, MicroCHIPS, demonstrated how the technology could release daily doses of an osteoporosis drug during human trials. It was detailed in the February 2012 edition of Science Translational Medicine.
Any wireless device carries with it the possibility of being hacked, but MicroCHIPS CEO Robert Farra backed up his technology, stating:
Someone across the room cannot reprogram your implant. Communication with the implant has to occur at skin contact-level distance. Then we have secure encryption. That prevents someone from trying to interpret or intervene between the communications.
According to MicroCHIPS, the technology could be available in 2018 if U.S. clinical trials next year go well. They also claim that the device will be “competitively priced.”
