Contraceptive Implant Hands Women Remote Control
Women may soon bid farewell to birth control pills and welcome a new type of contraception in the form of microchip implants. An MIT startup backed by the Bill Gates Foundation plans to start pre-clinical testing for the birth control chip next year and pave the way for a possible market debut in 2018.
The fingernail-size microchip implant holds enough 30-microgram daily doses of levonorgestrel—a hormone already used in several contraceptives—to last for 16 years. Women who received the implant under the skin of buttocks, upper arm or abdomen would also get a remote control that allows them to halt or restart the implant whenever they like, according to MIT Technology Review.
MicroCHIPS, the MIT startup behind the birth control implant, developed a clever design for a titanium and platinum seal that temporarily melts when an internal battery sends an electric charge running through the seal. That lasts just long enough for the melted seal to release the daily dose of levonorgestrel from the microchip reservoirs.
More: Contraceptive Implant Hands Women Remote Control - IEEE Spectrum