Biochips, implant chips in the body

What are biochips

Biochips emerge from the convergence of biotechnology and informatics. Are electronic biodevices with direct applications on living beings, such as chip implants to control tremors in Parkinson's patients.

Biochips are used mainly in the centers of genetic research for the study of different diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular diseases, in the pharmaceutical industry, for the study of new therapeutic targets and, to a lesser extent, for the study of diseases with a genetic or microbiological basis.

Advantages of biochips

Researchers and clinicians see many advantages in these devices, as they have high performance and capacity, low cost and effectiveness, and high specificity and sensitivity. In addition, they allow several determinations and analyzes to be carried out simultaneously.

Possible medical applications

The applications of biochips are relevant in basic research and clinical research. They are expected to be a useful and profitable tool in medical practice. It is a technology that has a long way to go and research and that generates new scenarios that will require the specialization of professionals and will raise numerous questions in the legal, ethical and social fields.

Monitoring of the expression of different genes.

Biochips can mark a before and after in genetic engineering studies and in the study of healthy tissue and diseased tissue.

Mutation detection.

It allows us to compare the differences in the sequence of normal genes and genes that present a mutation that causes a certain disease. It will be an important issue in the specific treatment and based on the analysis of therapeutic targets, so it can be an important tool to decide the optimal treatment to combat the tumor.

Clinical diagnosis

They can be used to detect certain pathogenic microorganisms, allowing the rapid identification of these using genetic markers.

Drug screening and toxicology.

It will be interesting to determine the tolerance or toxicity specific to a drug depending on the patient, as well as the location of new possible therapeutic targets and the toxicological effects associated with them.

Therapeutic monitoring.

They make it possible to analyze the genetic traits that may have an impact on the response to a certain treatment, since each individual may respond differently to the same drug, causing different adverse reactions. In this way, drugs designed specifically for each person will be developed, it is what we know as pharmacogenomics.

Preventive medicine.

Genetic epidemiology studies can be carried out and the predisposition to suffer certain diseases can be known, even before symptoms appear, thus allowing a preventive medicine more effective.

Precision medicine.

They could be an alternative to drug therapies, providing the advantage that the device would act in a localized way, that is, only in the desired area and not in a generalized way like most medicines.

Microchips and current clinical applications

Many people have medical devices implanted in their bodies, such as pacemaker, which are inserted into the chest to treat cochlear implants, which help deaf people hear.

In 2012, the FDA allowed the commercialization of the VeriChip, a medically implantable chip the size of a grain of rice. The microchip is inserted under the skin with a syringe in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and leaves no stitches. The chip stores a code that releases information patient specific when a scanner passes over it. The information is unlocked into a secure database that contains medical information about that person, including allergies and previous treatment. They have great potential for monitoring analytical parameters and constants such as glucose level.

Another application is the bionic lenses. This is the project of Canadian ophthalmologist Gareth Webb. They are lenses that will mark a before and after in all vision alterations such as myopia, astigmatism and cataracts. The secret of bionic lenses is that they accompany the natural movement of the eye in all situations (even during sleep hours) without posing a risk, as is the case with traditional lenses. They would be designed based on the visual defects of each patient.

They're safe?

Potential medical risks include migration under the skin, the formation of cysts around the chip, or the appearance of an autoimmune response (as these are foreign bodies within the body).

In bioethical issues, the possible loss of privacy is feared.

• The applications of biochips are relevant in basic research and clinical research. They are expected to be a useful and profitable tool in medical practice.
• It is a technology that has a long way to go and research and that generates new scenarios that will require the specialization of professionals and will raise numerous questions in the legal, ethical and social fields.
• Potential medical risks include migration under the skin, the formation of cysts around the chip or the appearance of an autoimmune response (being foreign bodies within the body). In bioethical issues, the possible loss of privacy is feared.

Pediatric specialist