The Medical Record is in the Sample: "Salting" Specimens with Microtransponder Chips to Permanently Link Samples with Data

William Grover of the University of California, Riverside, in the U.S. will create a medical record that is permanently attached to its human sample using micron-sized microtransponder chips added to the samples during collection. These chips will permanently link the sample to the patient, and provide their contact details, when and where the sample was collected, and the test results. Medical records are generally kept separately from the samples, which means that samples can be mixed up or misplaced, particularly when they are shipped to a central laboratory, or split into smaller samples. Their industry partner has developed silicon microtransponder chips carrying a unique identifier that can be read by an ID reader. They will first develop methods to use the chips for medical samples to ensure they function properly also during sample transport and processing, and that they don't interfere with standard diagnostic assays. They will also develop software to link the chips with existing open-source medical records.