Uproar flares over Alzheimer's tags

8/7/2019 Uproar flares over Alzheimer's tags

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This week–

It looks decepivey famiiar.the paien r up hi eeve, hedcr ic a neede in hiarm, and n i’ a ver. Bu hii n ruine vaccinain. Inead,he paien ha been injeced wiha fec f iicn ha wi uniquey

idenify him when zapped wihradi wave. Nw, neary hreeyear afer heir ue wa apprvedby he Us Fd and DrugAdminirain, impanaberadi frequency idenificain(RFID) chip are he fcu f anew cnrvery.

the bae ine are beingdrawn in a quie crner f WePam Beach, Frida. on 12 May,me 30 preer hed an iner-faih prayer vigi (picured abve)uide Azheimer’ Cmmuniy

Care, a day-care faciiy frpepe wih demenia. A iuei he faciiy’ pan impan200 paien wih micrchipmanufacured and dnaedby VeriChip f nearby DerayBeach. When canned, he chiprevea a unique ID number,which when enered in a

pawrd-preced daabaegive acce medicainfrmain abu i wner.

If he pan ge ahead, i wibe he fir ime he echngyha been ried n a grup f pepe wih a pecific menaimpairmen. the frgefuneha cme wih Azheimer’ canmae i impibe fr pepewih he cndiin pa n viainfrmain when faced wih amedica emergency, which i whyadvcae are een mae ue f 

RFID chip wih hi grup.“If fr whaever rean –

an aumbie acciden rhurricane – he pern becmeeparaed frm heir vedne, hey are ay, ayhepe. they can’ hare whamedicay i wrng wih hem,”ay Mary Barne f Azheimer’Cmmuniy Care. “thi cud bea afey ne.”

Privacy advcae ay ha ii preciey hi hepeneha mae he prped ue f he ag unaccepabe. “thi ia cmmuniy ha i n in apiin give fuy infrmed

cnen r ay n,” aykaherine Abrech f CAsPIAN,a Frida-baed cnumer righrganiain. “the naure f he dieae i ha hey can’fuy underand.”

Abrech ien “he vienand invaive ac” f impaning a

chip in mene wh de nhave he abiiy cnen heac f rape. oher agree wih heenimen, if n he cmparin“thi i by definiin a way f ding mehing ha denie apern cnr,” ay lee tien f he Eecrnic Frnier Fundaiin san Francic. “If ha den’rie a he hear f humandigniy, I dn’ nw wha de.”He and Abrech wud raher eea chip impaned in a bracee.

Barne ay a bracee wud nbe neary a uefu. Pepe mighremve i if i g uncmfrabeepeciay he wih Azheimer’wh migh n underand why

hey hud wear i.Bracee cud a abe

pepe a menay i, wherea animpaned chip i much ebviu, ay Ric Rader f heorange Grve Cener inChaanga, tenneee. thecenre, which care fr chidrenwih Dwn’ yndrme, cerebrapay and auim, wa in hemedia pigh w year agwhen i cnidered uingVeriChip’ device in a imiarudy n i paien, a pan

ha ha ince been pu n hebac burner.A he ime here wa an

ucry frm he wh aw animpanabe RFID a reminicenf he “mar f he bea”,a decribed in he b f  Revelations. A expained nAbrech’ webie, he Bibeae ha pepe wh ae hemar f he bea – a mar n herigh hand r he frehead hacnain a number r a nameha i required fr buying andeing – wi receive a “grievu

re” a we a he “wrah f Gd”, whie he wh refuewi be rewarded.

I i mehing Abrech, aChriian, ae eriuy. “I dn’hin anyne i arguing ha heVeriChip impan in i currenincarnain wud mee hadefiniin,” he ay. “Bu hecncern fr many pepe iha hi wud be a necearyprecurr geing ha pinand herefre prbaby hudbe bjeced .” l

Uproar flares overAlzheimer’s tagsCELESTE BIEVER

14 | NewScientist | 19 May 2007  www.newscientist.co

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“If the plan goes ahead, it will bethe first time the technology hasbeen tried on a group with aspecific mental impairment”

–Safety net or act of violence?–