Contraceptive Implant Hands Women Remote Control

By Jeremy Hsu
Posted 9 Jul 2014 | 20:01 GMT
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 levonorgestrela hormone already used in
several contraceptivesto last for 16 years.
Women who received the implant under the skin
of buttocks, upper arm or abdomen would also get

Photo-illustration: Randi Klett; Images: iStockphoto

a remote control that allows them to halt or restart

the implant whenever they like, according to MIT
Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/news/528121/a-contraceptive-implant-withremote-control/).
MicroCHIPS (http://www.mchips.com/index.html), 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.
The microchip technology's latest mission first came about when Bill Gates visited the MIT lab of Robert
Langer (http://web.mit.edu/langerlab/langer.html) and challenged researchers to come up with a birth
control method that women could control themselves and would also last for many years. Langer, an MIT
professor who already holds 1,050 patents worldwide, thought of using the controlled release microchip
technology that he and his colleagues had developed in the 1990s.
MicroCHIPS had previously demonstrated how the microchip technology could release daily doses of an
osteoporosis drug during human clinical trials (http://spectrum.ieee.org/techtalk/biomedical/devices/programmable-drug-delivery-implant-performs-well-in-clinical-trials) detailed in
the 16 Feb 2012 online edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine. The new application for the
microchipseach measuring 20 x 20 x 7 millimeterscould potentially revolutionize the level of control
women have over their birth control technologies.
The biggest difference that the MicroCHIPS technology brings comes from giving women control over
starting and stopping birth control regimens that can otherwise work for years without requiring regular
attention. By comparison, existing contraceptive implants (http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-

procedures/implanon/basics/definition/prc-20015073) require a trip to the local clinic or hospital for

removal if a woman wants to stop using the implant.
Any device offering wireless control for its users also runs the risk of being hacked. But Robert Farra,
president and CEO of MicroCHIPS, told BBC News (http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28193720)
that their technology included secure encryption to prevent outsiders from blocking or reprogramming the
implants wirelessly. As an added precaution, the remote control can only communicate with the microchip
implant across a distance equivalent to skin contact.