Posted on 10/23/2002 10:31:38 AM PDT by D.P.Roberts
FDA Says It Won't Regulate Implanted ID Chip Tue Oct 22, 5:30 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sales of an identification chip intended to be implanted in a person's body will resume immediately now that the US Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) (FDA) has completed its review of the device, the chip's maker Applied Digital Solutions Inc. announced Tuesday.
The company made headlines this spring after a Florida family became the first ever to be implanted with VeriChip. The device, about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted under the skin and works by emitting a radio frequency that transmits a unique verification number.
The company says the chips could eventually replace medical alert bracelets and cards of the sort that alert emergency medical personnel to conditions such as allergies.
Palm Beach, Florida-based Applied Digital Solutions said it received a letter from the FDA ruling that VeriChip is not a regulated medical device "for security, financial and personal identification/safety applications." The decision clears the way for the company to market and distribute VeriChip for those purposes.
Applied Digital said it voluntarily suspended its marketing of the device in the US 5 months ago pending FDA review.
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