Verichip has gone on the offensive, following news reports that RFID implants had been linked to cancer.
Earlier this week Dailytech covered reports that RFID chip implants had been linked to cancer in studies on lab animals.
VeriChip, the only manufacturer of FDA approved RFID implants, released a statement fiercely disputing claims that its chips might cause cancer.
It cited two studies:
Chronic Evaluation in Rodents to a Microchip Implant Used for Animal
Identification (D.J. Ball, R.L. Robison, R.E. Stoll and G.E. Visscher,
Sandoz Research Institute): “These
data show that the implant device produced no adverse side-effects in
rodents. No tissue masses or evidence of tumorigenicity was found at any
microchip site at any time.” This study
occurred over a 52-week period and examined 250 mice and rats.
Tissue Reaction to an Implantable Identification Device in Mice (Ghanta
N. Rao and Jennifer Edmondson): “…The
implantable micro-identification device did not cause neo-plastic
changes at the site of implantation in the subcutaneous tissue or in the
perirenal tissue, indicating that the glass used for sealing the device
and polypropylene cap of the device are not carcinogenic in the mouse
tissue for at least 24 months.”This study
occurred over a 24-month period and examined 140 mice.
VeriChip
also offers the defense that its chips have received FDA approval.
They fail to address or acknowledge, however, the questions of a
possible conflict of interest by their board member, Tommy Thompson,
who at the time led the Department of Health and Human Sciences who
oversaw the approval. Also, they do not address why the FDA appears to
not have even examined the studies indicating a cancer correlation
during the approval process.
They also mentioned that millions
of pets have received the canine and feline versions of their implant
over the last several years. They acknowledge that there was one
unsubstantiated report of an implant causing cancer, but they say there
has been no evidence that this is a widespread phenomena, and that the
report itself is inconclusive, without further investigation. They
cite that the USDA has recently endorsed their product for pets.
VeriChip
also contacted experienced vertinary pathologist researcher, Dr.
Lawrence McGill, who discussed how rodents often have an increased risk
of cancer at injection or incision sites, much higher than that found
in other animals following operation.
VeriChip promises to do its best to protect consumer safety and to examine all press reports and "(determine) their
veracity and credibility based on their factual content."
VeriChip's
certainly seems to offer a solid scientific rebut of the reports
correlating RFID chip implants to cancer. For definitive findings,
further studies need to be performed, on animals other than rodents.
However, in the meantime, VeriChip faces very real moral and societal challenges.
People
are rather uncomfortable about the thought that their employers could
soon be demanding them to be implanted, which has led to several states
passing laws banning this process.
VeriChip's greatest enemy may be simply itself, or rather the wild statements made by some of its head staff.
Last
year, Scott Silverman, Chairman of the Board of VeriChip Corporation,
proposed a novel solution to the problems of illegal immigration and
tracking guest workers.
He stated the following during an interview with FOX News last year:
Mr. SILVERMAN: Well, the chip itself
has a unique, 16-digit identification number, and then through a serial
port--if I can. Kiran, on the bottom of the scanner. Through a serial
port, it attaches to a computer, where a database would pull up and the
medical application—your medical records. But
in the immigration application, the registration of a guest worker legitimately
here in the United States, that could be used at the border. But it could
also be used for enforcement purposes at the employer level. KILMEADE: What if you don't want it in
your body? Do you have a choice? Mr. SILVERMAN: Absolutely. It's an election
on the part of the immigrant or an election on the part of the government,
when we ultimately define what that technology is that no one has defined
yet.
The
previous morning President Bush had called for high-tech measures to
clamp down on Mexican immigration, so many found Mr. Silverman's
comments to be alarming.
VeriChip has a rocky road ahead, as
they walk through the moral and legal mine-field surrounding the ethics
of implanting. From a medical standpoint, they appear to have provided
a
relatively successful rebuttal of claims that their implants are linked
to cancer. However, as long as they continue to promote involuntary or
coerced implanting, many people will likely oppose them.
"What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." -- Michael Dell, after being asked what to do with Apple Computer in 1997
|
Most Popular ArticlesHigh School Student Creates Storage Device that Can Charge in 20 Seconds
May 20, 2013, 6:51 AM
Seawater Cooling Saves Data Center Big Bucks, Energy, Despite Jellyfish Issues
May 17, 2013, 3:23 PM
Newegg Legal Chief: "We don't Feed the Trolls"; Defeats Bell Lab Shell Comp.
May 17, 2013, 10:11 AM
Former Intel CEO Regrets Passing Up on iPhone Gravy Train
May 17, 2013, 11:46 AM
NASA Awards $125,000 Grant for 3D Printed Food on Long-Term Space Travels
May 21, 2013, 1:32 PM
|
