We’ve got plenty of devices that track stats on the outside of our bodies and send the numbers to our phones, but how about one that goes under your skin and bathes in blood? A chip developed by a team of Swiss scientists does just that; it’s a Fitbit for under your skin. Sorta.
14mm long and fully bluetooth capable, the chip will be able to keep track of a number of variables after implant. So far it can handle glucose and cholesterol as well as a couple of other blood ingredients that doctors like to keep an eye on. It could even potentially predict heart attacks. Using its built-in bluetooth capability, it’d then beam all those numbers right to the implantee’s smartphone, which would pass it on to a doctor.
And while it’s easy to see how this could be awesome for the statistics-junkie, it’s initially intended for sufferers of chronic disease who need frequent blood tests, and even then it’s still about four years away from real human implementation. Tack it onto the list of cyborg enhancements we’re bloody excited for. [BBC via Engadget]
