Kodak has discovered a new use for RFID – probing a person’s digestive system.
“RFID tags are tiny radio chips that resonate with a single echo when hit with a radio trigger. Kodak’s digestible tags are harmless and intentionally fragile. The tags would be covered with soft gelatin that takes a while to dissolve in the stomach. After swallowing a tag a patient need only sit next to a radio source and receiver.”
“They stop working when exposed to gastric acid for a specific period of time, providing a subtle way to monitor a patient’s digestive tract.”
Even more interesting is the possibility that similar tags could be embedded in an “artificial knee or hip joint in such a way that they disintegrate as the joint does, warning of the need for more surgery.”
Once again, science has succeeded in filling more of our holes with useful technology.
