redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online
A Massachusetts-based start-up has developed a new implantable contraceptive that can be operated by remote control and can be used for up to 16 years, various media outlets reported on Monday.
The contraceptive in question is a computer chip that was built by MicroCHIPS with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Family Planning program. The chip is implanted under a woman’s skin, and according to BBC News technology reporter Dave Lee, it releases a small dose of the hormone levonorgestrel on a daily basis unless directed to stop using a wireless control device.
The project, which will be submitted to pre-clinical testing in the US next year, is 20mm x 20mm x 7mm in size and includes a microchip in which levonorgestrel will be stored. A small electrical charge will melt a thin seal surrounding the hormone, releasing a 30 microgram dose into the body, Lee added. The contraceptive device could potentially be available for purchase by 2018, and the creators promise that it will be “competitively priced.”
The fact that it could be used every day for more than a decade and a half makes it far longer-lasting than any intrauterine device (IUD) device currently available, according to Keith Wagstaff of NBC News. In comparison, Copper IUDs can last for up to 10 years, while hormonal ones last roughly half that time.
“The chip even comes with a remote control, which lets women turn it off and on again with the press of a button,” Wagstaff added. “It’s not quite ready for the widespread human use yet; researchers are still working out how to encrypt the chips, important in preventing hackers from seriously upsetting someone’s life plans.”
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