RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) has been
in existence for around 50 years, but very few of us are aware of having used
it. RFID chip in humans is just an advancement of this technology. What is this
technology used for and what are its pros and cons? We will deal with these
questions and many other such queries in this article.
Many of us are not even aware of having used
the RFID technology, at least once in our
life time. Before starting off with explaining RFID chips in humans, we need to
understand what is Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) technologyand what is it used
for. Radio Frequency Identification technology is used for tracking goods,
animals and even humans.
An RFID tag consists of two parts; an integrated circuit chip and an antenna. The antenna can identify the chip, even if it does not fall in its line of sight. Thus, RFID is a very effective way of detection. Now, just compare it to the bar code technology, used while selling products in a shopping mall. Each product is individually scanned for the bill to be made. Now, if RFID technology is used in the same place, then you can place all the products you wish to purchase in the same basket and all the products can be detected simultaneously. The billing of the products that you purchase can be in fact done very fast using this technology. Let us try to get into a little more detail as to how does the RFID technology work.
There are basically three types of RFID tags, active RFID tags, passive RFID tags and battery assisted passive RFID tags. An active RFID tag has an inbuilt battery to trigger the signals through the antenna. The passive RFID tags do not have any internal battery and need an external source to help trigger radio frequency signals through the RFID tag. The battery assisted passive RFID tag require a battery to start off the device but have significant amount of power to carry on the signal transmission process. Every RFID tag is given an unique number, similar to an user identification number. The processing device reads the tag and hence, finds out information about the article. This is the basic principle of working of devices using RFID technology.
Now, let us take a look at the RFID frequency. High frequency RFID systems, typically operate in the frequency ranges 850 MHz to 950 MHz and 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz. These devices can transmit over a range as high as 90 feet. Low frequency RFID systems have small ranges, somewhere around 6 feet and operate at a frequency of 30 Khz to 500 Khz. RFID is also sometimes referred to as Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC). Now without wasting anymore time in explaining what the RFID technology exactly is, let us take a look at the use of RFID chip in humans.
RFID Chip in Humans
The question is where did this idea come from. How would it prove to be convenient or by any means prove to be of some use to humans. Many people have contradictory opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of RFID implant in humans. Well the idea was simple. You can pay for services that you avail through the radio frequency identification chips.
Another important application is in the case of medicals. It can be used for storing a person's medical history. The medical history of a person can be stored in RFID chips. So, if a person is brought into a hospital under serious conditions, it would become extremely useful for the medical practitioner to know the patient's medical history, just by using a scanner that recognizes the RFID chip implanted in that particular person. This was the reason why the US Food and Drug Administration allowed implanting RFID chips in humans. These chips are as small as the grains of rice. The purpose was specifically for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and other such complex diseases. Many people have a wrong conception that the RFID chip implanted in a human contains data of the patient's medical history. This is however wrong. As already mentioned, the RFID chip just contains a unique number. It is through this number that the details of the patient's medical history can be retrieved from a master database.
Advantages and Disadvantages of RFID Chip in Humans
Just as in the case of any other technology, the RFID chip has its own share of pros and cons. Many people debate over the use of RFID chip in humans and consider that it will take away their privacy. We do not need to explain the uses or advantages of RFID chip in humans, as they have been explained in a much detailed manner in the last section. Let us rather take a look at what are its possible disadvantages. There are some complications that may arise because of an RFID chip implanted in a humans. These complications which may arise have in fact been marked by the US, Food and Drug Administration. These chips can cause problems when a patient is going through an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). One possible risk is the migration of the implanted transponder and in some cases the chip may also cause adverse tissue reaction. For more information on the advantages and disadvantages of this entire technology, you can refer the articles, pros and cons of RFID technology and advantages and disadvantages of RFID technology.
RFID Cost
We are now probably at the right point to deal with the cost of RFID implant in humans. Well, first and foremost, the US government has made strict laws which says that no person or no organization can force an individual to get an RFID chip implanted. RFID chips nowadays cost somewhere around 50 cents. The RFID chip implant is done through a surgical procedure in which a chip of the dimension of 12 mm X 2.2 mm is implanted under the human skin.
RFID chips have been in use through a number of ways already. Product tracking, animal tracking, inventory control and passports are just a few of its application. However, mass implant of RFID chip in humans, will need to undergo some debates on privacy issues and medical issues, before it is used in a very large scale.
An RFID tag consists of two parts; an integrated circuit chip and an antenna. The antenna can identify the chip, even if it does not fall in its line of sight. Thus, RFID is a very effective way of detection. Now, just compare it to the bar code technology, used while selling products in a shopping mall. Each product is individually scanned for the bill to be made. Now, if RFID technology is used in the same place, then you can place all the products you wish to purchase in the same basket and all the products can be detected simultaneously. The billing of the products that you purchase can be in fact done very fast using this technology. Let us try to get into a little more detail as to how does the RFID technology work.
There are basically three types of RFID tags, active RFID tags, passive RFID tags and battery assisted passive RFID tags. An active RFID tag has an inbuilt battery to trigger the signals through the antenna. The passive RFID tags do not have any internal battery and need an external source to help trigger radio frequency signals through the RFID tag. The battery assisted passive RFID tag require a battery to start off the device but have significant amount of power to carry on the signal transmission process. Every RFID tag is given an unique number, similar to an user identification number. The processing device reads the tag and hence, finds out information about the article. This is the basic principle of working of devices using RFID technology.
Now, let us take a look at the RFID frequency. High frequency RFID systems, typically operate in the frequency ranges 850 MHz to 950 MHz and 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz. These devices can transmit over a range as high as 90 feet. Low frequency RFID systems have small ranges, somewhere around 6 feet and operate at a frequency of 30 Khz to 500 Khz. RFID is also sometimes referred to as Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC). Now without wasting anymore time in explaining what the RFID technology exactly is, let us take a look at the use of RFID chip in humans.
RFID Chip in Humans
The question is where did this idea come from. How would it prove to be convenient or by any means prove to be of some use to humans. Many people have contradictory opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of RFID implant in humans. Well the idea was simple. You can pay for services that you avail through the radio frequency identification chips.
Another important application is in the case of medicals. It can be used for storing a person's medical history. The medical history of a person can be stored in RFID chips. So, if a person is brought into a hospital under serious conditions, it would become extremely useful for the medical practitioner to know the patient's medical history, just by using a scanner that recognizes the RFID chip implanted in that particular person. This was the reason why the US Food and Drug Administration allowed implanting RFID chips in humans. These chips are as small as the grains of rice. The purpose was specifically for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and other such complex diseases. Many people have a wrong conception that the RFID chip implanted in a human contains data of the patient's medical history. This is however wrong. As already mentioned, the RFID chip just contains a unique number. It is through this number that the details of the patient's medical history can be retrieved from a master database.
Advantages and Disadvantages of RFID Chip in Humans
Just as in the case of any other technology, the RFID chip has its own share of pros and cons. Many people debate over the use of RFID chip in humans and consider that it will take away their privacy. We do not need to explain the uses or advantages of RFID chip in humans, as they have been explained in a much detailed manner in the last section. Let us rather take a look at what are its possible disadvantages. There are some complications that may arise because of an RFID chip implanted in a humans. These complications which may arise have in fact been marked by the US, Food and Drug Administration. These chips can cause problems when a patient is going through an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). One possible risk is the migration of the implanted transponder and in some cases the chip may also cause adverse tissue reaction. For more information on the advantages and disadvantages of this entire technology, you can refer the articles, pros and cons of RFID technology and advantages and disadvantages of RFID technology.
RFID Cost
We are now probably at the right point to deal with the cost of RFID implant in humans. Well, first and foremost, the US government has made strict laws which says that no person or no organization can force an individual to get an RFID chip implanted. RFID chips nowadays cost somewhere around 50 cents. The RFID chip implant is done through a surgical procedure in which a chip of the dimension of 12 mm X 2.2 mm is implanted under the human skin.
RFID chips have been in use through a number of ways already. Product tracking, animal tracking, inventory control and passports are just a few of its application. However, mass implant of RFID chip in humans, will need to undergo some debates on privacy issues and medical issues, before it is used in a very large scale.
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as they have been explained in a much detailed manner in the last section. RFID cards
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