16 Years without Pregnancy Worries
Researchers are working on a contraceptive chip that women can wear under the skin – it should protect against unwanted pregnancy for 16 years.
Contraception can be cumbersome, unreliable or accompanied by side effects. This could change soon: Researchers at MicroChips – a start-up company founded by scientists from the renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – are currently working on a contraceptive chip that is intended to protect women from unwanted pregnancy for up to 16 years. The implant sits under the skin and releases the same amount of hormones every time it is activated by remote control. If a woman wants to have a child, it can be stopped at the push of a button.
The idea for the two by two centimeter small and seven millimeter thick contraceptive chip was born two years ago, when Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his colleagues paid a visit to researchers at MIT and asked for a contraceptive method that women could switch on and off themselves over many years. Gates’ foundation is supporting the project with around 3.4 million euros and hopes above all to bring about improvements for women in developing countries who have no access to contraceptives. But the chip should also be of interest to women in Western countries.
It should give 30 micrograms of the progestin levonorgestrel per day. The hormone is already used in other contraceptives such as the contraceptive pill or the hormone coil. It inhibits ovulation and thus protects against pregnancy. The current sent through the chip by a battery melts a seal of titanium and platinum temporarily, allowing a small amount of the hormone to flow into the tissue every day. The exact dosage is said to keep the side effects lower than with other hormonal contraceptive methods. The chip is inserted in a half-hour operation under local anesthesia – either on the buttocks, upper arm or abdomen.
However, it will take a few more years before this happens. In addition, there are still some questions unanswered. How does the body absorb the hormone? Should the chip act like a minipill or like the morning-after pill? How much will the chip cost? Data security is not guaranteed either, because the radio signal between the chip and the remote control is not encrypted so far.
In the future, microchips could not only be used for contraception. Chronically ill patients could also benefit from the implants. In 2012, eight women with bone loss were implanted with a comparable microchip in a first practical test, which provided them with an individually dosed osteoporosis medication. The technology could make daily injections of medication superfluous – a procedure from which many patients suffer.