The implants of medical solutions under the skin have been used for a long time. On the one hand there are pacemakers, which tell the heart, constantly, when insulin pumps must beat, on the other, they can release a continuous dose of insulin or specific doses at specific times at the subcutaneous tissue, and on the other On the other hand, we find a chip that is now under study, which under the skin, is administering medication for women with osteoporosis.
This chip has been created by the company MicroCHIPS and, although it is still under development, all possible indications are already being considered. One of them is to promote that it serves as an "administrator" of hormones, and consequently, that of work as a contraceptive with which the woman will decide when to be fertile.
That is, a chip that, implanted under the skin, can release levonorgestrel until the woman decides to stop doing so. Then the contraceptive effect will stop working, the woman will be fertile again, and so on until the day she decides to restart the release of the hormone.
The chip's duration is no less than 16 years, which is very much, and in the chip the necessary circuits will be included to be able to be handled wirelessly. Implantation is simple and is performed under local anesthesia in less than 30 minutes.
Behind it are Bill and Melinda Gates, who through their foundation, in their fertility program, have decided to give financial support to the project. The trials will start next year and they still have to fix a major problem: make the chip completely safe so that cannot be controlled remotely by anyone. Do you remember Desigual's announcement that a girl appeared pricking condoms? I do not want to imagine couples "trick" the chip to stop providing the contraceptive without the woman finding out.
It is estimated that the chip will be available to start being used in 2018. By then it will probably have evolved to size level (it measures 20mm x 20mm x 0.7mm, which is not much, but could be smaller) and maybe also At the level of durability, although as we have said, 16 years seems a negligible figure.
The doubt, as always, lies in knowing what will be the acceptance. As an invention it seems practical and really comfortable, since it does not give rise to any type of forgetfulness or neglect, but for that you have to carry a chip under the skin and, honestly, I don't know if many people will like it.
