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1. ABSTRACT
“A single electronic card may replace everything in your wallet including. . .
. . . your cash
. . . your credit cards
. . . your ATM card
. . . your ID cards
. . . your insurance
. . . and your life
FUTURE One card, or one chip, with your life on it.”
“Biochips”- The most exciting future technology is an outcome of the fields of Computer
science, Electronics & Biology. It is a new type of bio-security device to accurately track
information regarding what a person is doing, and who is to accurately track information
regarding what he is doing, and who is actually doing it. It is no more required with
biochips the good old idea of remembering pesky PINs, Passwords, & Social security
numbers .No more matters of carrying medical records to a hospital, no more cash/credit
card carrying to the market place; everything goes embedded in the chip. Everything goes
digitalized. No more hawker tricks on the internet. Biochip has a variety technique for
secured E-money transactions on the net. The power of biochips exists in capability of
locating lost children, downed soldiers, and wandering Alzheimer patients.
2. INTRODUCTION
The idea of implanting a biochip in our body that identifies us uniquely and can be used
to track our location will not be liked by most of us. That would be a major loss of
privacy. But there is a flip side to this. Such biochips could help agencies to locate lost
children, downed soldiers and wandering Alzheimer’s patients.
The human body is the next big target of chipmakers. It will not be long before biochip
implants will come to the rescue of sick, or those who are handicapped in some way.
Large amount of money and research has already gone into this area of technology.
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Anyway, such implants have already been commenced. A few US companies are selling
both chips and their detectors. The chips are of size of an uncooked grain of rice, small
enough to be injected under the skin using a syringe needle. They respond to a signal
from the detector held just a few feet away by transmitting an identification number. This
number is then compared with the database listings of register pets.
Daniel Man, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Florida, holds the patent on a more
powerful device: a chip that would enable lost humans to be tracked by satellite.
3. HISTORY
The development of biochips has a long history, starting with early work on the
underlying sensor technology. Biochip was originally developed in 1983 for monitoring
fisheries, the rapid technological advances of the biochemistry and semi conductor fields
in the 1980s led to the large scale development of biochips in the 1990s. At this time, it
became clear that biochips were largely a "platform" technology which consisted of
several separate, yet integrated components. Today, a large variety of biochip
technologies are either in development or being commercialized. Numerous
advancements continue to be made in sensing research that enable new platforms to be
developed for new applications. Biochip was invented in 4G generation & the
development is still continued, due its various applications. Biochips are also continuing
to evolve as a collection of assays that provide a technology platform. One interesting
development in this regard is the recent effort to couple so-called representational
difference analysis (RDA) with high-throughput DNA array analysis. The RDA
technology allows the comparison of DNA from two separate tissue samples
simultaneously. It is important to realize that a biochip is not a single product, but rather
a family of products that form a technology platform. Many developments over the past
two decades have contributed to its evolution. In a sense, the very concept of a biochip
was made possible by the work of Fred Sanger and Walter Gilbert, who were awarded a
Nobel Prize in 1980 for their pioneering DNA sequencing approach that is widely used
today. DNA sequencing chemistry in combination with electric current as well as
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micropore agarose gels, laid the foundation for considering miniaturizing molecular
assays. Another Nobel-prize winning discovery, Kary Mullis's polymerase chain reaction
(PCR), first described in 1983, continued down this road by allowing researchers to
amplify minute amounts of DNA to quantities where it could be detected by standard
laboratory methods. A further refinement was provided by Leroy Hood's 1986 method
for fluorescence-based DNA sequencing which facilitated the automation of reading
DNAsequence.
Further developments, such as sequencing by hybridization, gene marker identification,
and expressed sequence tags, provided the critical technological mass to prompt
corporate efforts to develop miniaturized and automated versions of DNA sequencing
and analysis to increase throughput and decrease costs. In the early and mid-1990s,
companies such as Hyseq and Affymetrix were formed to develop DNA array
technologies.
4. DEFINITION
A biochip is a collection of miniaturized test sites (micro arrays) arranged on a solid
substrate that permits many tests to be performed at the same time in order to get higher
throughput and speed. Typically, a biochip’s surface area is not longer than a fingernail.
Like a computer chip that can perform millions of mathematical operation in one second,
a biochip can perform thousands of biological operations, such as decoding genes, in a
few seconds.
A genetic biochip is designed to “freeze” into place the structures of many short strands
of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the basic chemical instruction that determines the
characteristics of an organism. Effectively, it is used as a kind of “test tube” for real
chemical samples.
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FIGURE 4.1 :- PROCESS OF A BIOCHIP
5. WORKING OF THE BIOCHIPS
The reader generates a low-power, electromagnetic field, in this case via radio signals,
which “activates” the implanted biochip. This “activation” enables the biochip to send the
ID code back to the reader via radio signals. The reader amplifies the received code,
converts it to digital format, decodes and displays the ID number on the reader’s LCD
display. The reader must normally be between 2 and 12 inches near the biochip to
communicate. The reader and biochip can communicate through most materials, except
metal.
The biochip system is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system, using low-
frequency radio signals to communicate between the biochip and reader. The reading
range or activation range, between reader and biochip is small, normally between 2 and
12 inches.
6. COMPONENTS OF THE BIOCHIPS
The biochip system consists of two components which are as follows :-
1. Transponder.
2. Reader or scanner.
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6.1 THE TRANSPONDER :-
The transponder is the actual biochip implant. It is a passive transponder, meaning it
contains no battery or energy of its own. In comparison, an active transponder would
provide its own energy source, normally a small battery. Because the passive contains no
battery, or nothing to wear out, it has a very long life up to 99 years, and no maintenance.
Being passive, it is inactive until the reader activates it by sending it a low power
electrical charge. The reader reads or scans the implanted biochip and receives back data
(in this case an identification number) from the biochips. The communication between
biochip and reader is via low-frequency radio waves. Since the communication is via
very low frequency radio waves it is not at all harmful to the human body.
FIGURE 6.1 :- COMPONENTS OF THE BIOCHIP
The biochip-transponder further consists of four parts mentioned below :-
A. Computer Microchip.
B. Antenna Coil.
C. Tuning Capacitor.
D. Glass capsule.
A. COMPUTER MICROCHIP:-
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The microchip stores a unique identification number from 10 to 15 digits long. The
storage capacity of the current microchips is limited, capable of storing only a single ID
number. AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices), claims their chips, using a
nnn-nnn-nnn format, has the capability of over 70 trillion unique numbers. The unique ID
number is “etched” or encoded via a laser onto the surface of the microchip before
assembly. Once the number is encoded it is impossible to alter. The microchip also
contains the electronic circuitry necessary to transmit the ID number to the “reader”.
B. ANTENNA COIL :-
This is normally a simple, coil of copper wire around a ferrite or iron core. This tiny,
primitive, radio antenna receives and sends signals from the reader or scanner.
C. TUNING CAPACITOR :-
The capacitor stores the small electrical charge (less than 1/1000 of a watt) sent by the
reader or scanner, which activates the transponder. This “activation” allows the
transponder to send back the ID number encoded in the computer chip. Because “radio
waves” are utilized to communicate between the transponder and reader, the capacitor is
tuned to the same frequency as the reader.
D. GLASS CAPSULE :-
The glass capsule “houses” the microchip, antenna coil and capacitor. It is a small
capsule, the smallest measuring 11 mm in length and 2 mm in diameter, about the size of
an uncooked grain of rice. The capsule is made of biocompatible material such as soda
lime glass.
After assembly, the capsule is hermetically (air-tight) sealed, so no bodily fluids can
touch the electronics inside. Because the glass is very smooth and susceptible to
movement, a material such as a polypropylene polymer sheath is attached to one end of
the capsule. This sheath provides a compatible surface which the boldly tissue fibers
bond or interconnect, resulting in a permanent placement of the biochip.
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6.2. THE READER :-
The reader consists of an “exciter coil” which creates an electromagnetic field that, via
radio signals, provides the necessary energy (less than 1/1000 of a watt) to “excite” or
“activate” the implanted biochip. The reader also carries a receiving coil that receives
the transmitted code or ID number sent back from the “activated” implanted biochip. This
all takes place very fast, in milliseconds. The reader also contains the software and
components to decode the received code and display the result in an LCD display. The
reader can include a RS-232 port to attach a computer.
FIGURE 6.2 :- THE READER
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7. APPLICATIONS
Following are the applications of the biochips :-
1. With a biochip tracing of a person/animal anywhere in the world is possible:-
Once the reader is connected to the internet, satellite and a centralized database is
maintained about the bio-chipped creatures, it is always possible to trace out the
personality intended.
2. A biochip can store and update financial, medical, demographic data, basically
everything about a person:-
An implanted biochip can be scanned to pay for groceries, obtain medical procedures and
conduct financial transactions. Currently, the in use, implanted biochips only store one 10
to 15 digits. If biochips are designed to accommodate with more ROM & RAM there is
definitely an opportunity.
3. A biochip leads to a secured E-Commerce systems :-
It’s a fact; the world is very quickly going to a digital or E-economy, through the Internet.
It is expected that by 2008, 60% of the Business transactions will be performed through
the internet. The E-money future, however, isn't necessarily secure. The Internet wasn't
built to be Fort Knox. In the wrong hands, this powerful tool can turn dangerous. Hackers
have already broken into bank files that were 100% secure. A biochip is the possible
solution to 8 the "identification and security" dilemma faced by the digital economy. This
type of new bio-security device is capable of accurately tracking information regarding
what users are doing, and who are to accurately track information regarding what users
are doing, and who is actually doing it.
4. Biochips really are potent in replacing passports, cash, medical records:-
The really powered biochip systems can replace cash, passports, medical & other records.
It’s no more required to carry wallet full cash, credit/ATM cards, passports & medical
records to the market place.
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7.1 BIOCHIP IN MEDICAL FIELD :-
7.1.1 BIOCHIP AS A GLUCOSE DETECTOR :-
The biochip can be integrated with a glucose detector. The chip will allow diabetic
persons to easily monitor the level of sugar glucose in their blood. Diabetics currently use
a skin prick and a handheld blood test, and then medicate themselves with the required
amount of insulin. The system is simple and works well but the need to draw blood
means that most diabetics do not test themselves as often as they should. The new S4MS
chip will simply sit under the skin, sense the glucose level, and send the result back out
by radio frequency communication.
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF GLUCOSE DETECTOR :-
A light emitting diode starts off the detection process. The light that it produces hits a
fluorescent chemical: one that absorbs the incoming light and re-emits it at a longer
wavelength. The longer wavelength of light is detected, and the result is send to a control
panel outside the body. Glucose is detected because the sugar reduces the amount of light
that a fluorescent chemical re-emits. The more glucose is there the less light that is
detected.
S4MS is still developing the perfect fluorescent chemical, but the key design innovation
of the S4MS chip has been fully worked out. The idea is simple: the LED is sitting in a
sea of fluorescent molecules. In most detectors the light source is far away from the
fluorescent molecules, and the inefficiencies that come with that mean more power and
larger devices. The prototype S4MS chip uses a 22 microwatt LED, almost forty times
less powerful than a tiny power-on buttons on a computer keyboard. The low power
requirements mean that energy can be supplied from outside, by a process called
induction. The fluorescent detection itself does not consume any chemicals or proteins,
so the device is self sustaining.
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FIGURE 7.1 :- THE S4MS CHIP SENSING OXYGEN OR GLOUCOSE
7.1.2 BIOCHIP AS A BLOOD PRESSURE SENSOR :-
In normal situations, the Blood Pressure of a healthy Human being is 120/80 mm of Hg.
A Pressure ratio lower than this is said to be “Low BP “ condition & a Pressure ratio
more than this is “High BP” condition. Serious Effects will be reflected in humans during
Low & High BP conditions; it may sometimes cause the death of a Person. Blood
Pressure is checked with BP Apparatus in Hospitals and this is done only when the
patient is abnormal. However, a continuous monitoring of BP is required in the aged
people & Patients. A huge variety of hardware circuitry (sensors) is available in
electronics to detect the flow of fluid. It’s always possible to embed this type of sensors
into a biochip. An integration of Pressure (Blood Flow) detecting circuits with the
Biochip can make the chip to continuously monitor the blood flow rate & when the
pressure is in its low or high extremes it can be immediately informed through the reader
hence to take up remedial measures.
OPTICALFILTER
PHOTODIODE DETECTOR
FLUORESCENT
MOLECULES
LED
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7.1.3 BIOCHIP AS OXYGEN SENSOR :-
The biochip can also be integrated with an oxygen sensor .The oxygen sensor will be
useful not only to monitor breathing in intensive care units, but also to check that
packages of food, or containers of semiconductors stored under nitrogen gas, remain
airtight.
BASIC PRINCIPLE OF OXYGEN SENSOR :-
The oxygen-sensing chip sends light pulses out into the body. The light is absorbed to
varying extents, depending on how much oxygen is being carried in the blood, and the
chip detects the light that is left. The rushes of blood pumped by the heart are also
detected, so the same chip is a pulse monitor.
8. HUMAN INTERFACE TO THE BIOCHIP
Biochips provide interfaces between living systems and electro-mechanical and
computational devices. These chips may be used in such varied applications as artificial
sensors, prosthesis, portable/disposable laboratories or even as implantable devices to
enhance human life. Biochips promise dramatic changes in future medical science and
human life in general. With the advances of bio and nanotechnologies two strong
paradigms of integrated electronic and life are emerging. Biosensor chips can provide the
construction of sophisticated human sensing systems such as nose and ears. The second
paradigm is chips for sensing biology that will provide for interactions with living bodies
and build new diagnosis tools (such as diabetes glucose meters) or new medicines (such
as a bio-assay chip). A tiny microchip, the size of a grain of rice, is simply placed under
the skin. It is so designed as to be injected simultaneously with a vaccination or alone."
The biochip is inserted into the subject with a hypodermic syringe. Injection is safe and
simple, comparable to common vaccines. Anesthesia is not required nor recommended.
In dogs and cats, the biochip is usually injected behind the neck between the shoulder
blades.
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Trovan Ltd. Markets an implant featuring a patented “zip quill” which you simply press
in, no syringe is needed. According to AVID “Once implanted, the identity tag is
virtually impossible to retrieve. The number can never be altered."
FIGURE 8.1 HUMAN INTERFACING OF BIOCHIP
The syringe used is of a normal size syringe & the chip can be placed below the skin
layer very easily.
FIGURE 8.2 SYRINGE TO IMPLANT BIOCHIP
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9. FIRST IMPLANT OF BIOCHIP
On May 10 2002, three members of a family in Florida ("medical pioneers," according to
a fawning report on the CBS Evening News) became the first people to receive the
implants. Each device, made of silicon and called a VeriChip is a small radio transmitter
about the size of a piece of rice that is injected under a person's skin. It transmits a unique
personal ID number whenever it is within a few feet of a special receiver unit. VeriChip's
maker describes it as "a miniaturized, implantable, radio frequency identification device
(RFID) that can be used in a variety of security, emergency and healthcare applications.
10. ADVANTAGES
1. It helps in finding lost people.
2. It is useful in locating downed children and wandering Alzheimera’s Patients.
3. It helps in recognizing person uniquely.
4. The ability to detect multiple viral agents in parallel e.g. differential diagnosis of
agents from other diseases that cause similar clinical symptoms, or the recognition of
complex mixtures of agents.
5. A biochip can perform thousands of biological reactions operations in few seconds.
6. Clarification of syndromes of unknown aetiology. Increase speed of diagnosis of
unknown pathogens (future proofed surveillance tools).
7. In monitoring health condition of individuals in which they are specifically employed.
8. To rescue the sick.
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11. DISADVANTAGES
1. They raise critical issues of personal privacy.
2. They mark the end of human freedom and dignity.
3. They may not be supported by large % of people.
4. There is a danger of turning every man, women, and Child into a controlled slave.
5. They can be implanted into one’s body without their knowledge.
6. These methods have problems that a DNA chip cannot be fabricated at high density and
mass production is limited. Thus, these methods are applicable to fabrication of a DNA
chip for study.
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12. CONCLUSION
A chip implanted somewhere in human bodies might serve as a combination of credit
card, passport, driver's license, personal diary. No longer would it be needed to worry
about losing the credit cards while traveling. A chip inserted into human bodies might
also give us extra mental power.
Biochips are fast, accurate, miniaturized and can be expected to become economically
advantageous attributes that make them analogous to a computer chip. One expects to
see an accelerated trend of ultra miniaturization, perhaps involving entirely novel
media, and an increased ability to analyze not only genetic material but also other
types of biologic molecules. One expects, too, an eventual harmonization of
technologies, so that dominant fabrication strategies will emerge, at least for certain
types of applications, including a favored format for genetic analysis and another for
antibodies and other proteins. Since the potential applications are vast, both for
research and for clinical use, the potential markets for biochips will be huge, a
powerful driving force for their continued development.
FUTURE SCOPE :-
1. Within the next ten years, we will have miniature computers inside us to monitor
and perhaps even control our blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol.
2. Within 20 years such computers will correct visual and hearing signals, making
glasses and hearing aids obsolete.
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REFERENCES
BOOKS :-
1. Marshall, A., Hodgson, J, DNA chips: An array of possibilities, Nature
Biotechnology, 1998, 16: 27.
2. Kricha, L.J., Miniaturization of analytical systems, Clinical Chemistry, 1998, 44 :
2088.
3. Fan et al. (2009). "Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis in a Chip". Lab-on-a-Chip
Technology: Biomolecular Separation and Analysis. Caister Academic.
4. Herold K.E Rasooly, A (editor) (2009). Lab-on-a-Chip Technology: Fabrication
and Microfluids.
WEBSITES :-
(1) http://www.123seminarsonly.com/Seminar-Reports/020/28894132-Biochips-
1.pdf
(2) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/54/Biochip_platform.jpg
(3) http://studymafia.org/biochips-seminar-pdf-report-and-ppt/
