FC: Update on Digital Angel and human trials of implantable chips

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 11:05:02 +1100
From: Nathan Cochrane <ncochrane () theage fairfax com au>
Organization: The Age newspaper
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Subject: ADS pushes ahead with human implants despite earlier denials

Hi Declan

From the "I-told-you-so" department.

Destron-Fearing/Applied Digital Solutions/Digital Angel/Verichip is pushing 
ahead with its implantable tracking chip in a human test in Florida, 
despite earlier denials it would.

What's the betting ADS will have its path smoothed by a paranoid 
Administration? How much longer before implants are mandatory by law for 
all American citizens, and those in the rest of the world?

As I said eight months ago, you don't spend $US130 million acquiring 
intellectual property and then not use it.

I'd like to see ADS spin itsway out of this one. It will be something along 
the lines of: "Digital Angel is not pursuing it, but our new 
company/subsidiary/licensee, VeriChip, is".

--

Family volunteer to be first for microchip implants

A Florida couple and their teenage son are volunteering to become the first 
family to be implanted with identification microchips.

The chip, which is smaller than a vitamin pill, can be scanned for medical 
and personal information.

Jeff and Leslie Jacobs say the technology is like something from Star Trek.

Their 14-year-old son, Derek, says he is looking forward to "riding the 
wave of the future". He already uses his home computer to listen for 
extraterrestrial life.

The chips, which are implanted in the arm, are made by Florida company 
VeriChip.

MORE
http://www.ananova.com/yournews/story/sm_519410.html

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Richard M. Smith (rms () computerbytesman com)
December 27, 2001

Applied Digital Solutions faces a very tough sell for its new VeriChip 
implant ID system for human beings. A VeriChip is a small radio transmitter 
about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. 
It transmits a unique personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet 
of a special receiver unit. The technology is designed to replace ID 
systems such as company ID cards and medical emergency ID braclets. In the 
future VeriChips may also be used like driver licenses, passports, and 
credit cards.

MORE
http://computerbytesman.com/privacy/verichip.htm

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The First Denial
Digital Angel® is no longer pursuing implant technology for humans, a 
spokesman for the company said yesterday.

Dr. Lawrence Webber of Digital Angel Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of 
Applied Digital Solutions, told WorldNetDaily the company has "no plan at 
this time for implant technology." Rather, the company's patented sensor 
technology is being used in externally worn devices only, such as watches 
and pagers.

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A Subsequent Denial
"We appreciate the opportunity to issue a statement about Digital Angel
to your readers.  We have studied the marketplace for emergency location
and medical monitoring devices and we're convinced there is a huge
potential market need for a wearable, external device.  That is our sole
focus.  Let there be no mistake or confusion about this.  Digital Angel
is being developed as a wearable, wristwatch-type device that will,
among other things, help save lives by locating lost or missing children or 
at-risk patients who may require emergency medical attention.  We are not 
now developing, nor do we have any plans to develop, anything other than an 
external, wearable device."

---

Original articles

More on Digital Angel, chip implants, and human tracking
The "Mark of the Beast" tag is very accurate, given the
circumstances.

Digital Angel owns patents on implanted transmitter technology following
Applied Digital Solutions' $130 million acquisition September 2000 of
Destron Fearing, a company that specialises in implanted animal
trackers. The CEO is trained vet and patent holder, Dr Randolph K.
Geissler.

MORE
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02154.html

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Digital Angel launches human, animal GPS tracking system
Palm Beach, Fla.-based Applied Digital Solutions Inc. now is offering
details of its rollout plan for Digital Angel, which it touts as the
"first-ever combination of advanced biosensor technology and Web-enabled
wireless telecommunications linked to GPS." The first target market
appears to be Florida. The company says that by using advanced biosensor
capabilities, Digital Angel will be able to monitor key body functions,
including temperature and pulse, transmitting that data along with
accurate location information to a ground station or monitoring facility.
Potential applications include locating lost or missing individuals,
locating missing or stolen household pets, monitoring parolees, managing
livestock; pinpointing stolen property and preventing the unauthorized use 
of firearms.

MORE
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02876.html




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