Researchers testing new microchip birth control

Updated: Thursday, July 24, 2014
Researchers testing new microchip birth control story image

(NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Researchers are testing a new birth control device that can be turned on and off wirelessly.

The biomedical company MicroCHIPS and doctors from MIT say it could prevent pregnancies for up to 16 years.

A chip, containing birth-control hormones, would be implanted under a woman's skin.

When a woman decides she wants to have a baby, she or her doctor would turn it off with a remote.

Researchers want to make sure it can't be hacked.

"The remote control must be put up against the skin in order to establish communication," said Bob Farra, President and COO with MicroCHIPS. "The reason we do that is we want people to have close range communication to prevent anyone from listening in to the encrypted signal."

The technology has been successfully tested in osteoporosis patients.

Researchers plan to test the birth control chip in women in 2016.

It's expected to cost about $1,000.

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