A new breakthrough for a long-lasting contraception is on its way - and all you have to do is rememeber your body's login and password.
There's been few developments in contraception for the past thirty years. But that's set to change, with MIT announcing a microchip, implanted under the skin, which can be operated wirelessly by remote control. If it works as planned - women will simply be able to flick a switch between fertile and infertile.
The hormone proposed for use in this method of contraception has been used in medical devices for many years. The progress represented by this device is the technology to control its release into the bloodsteam. The device could make other forms of long-acting contraception redundant, like Progestogen implants, which last three years, to IUDs, which last ten years, to contraceptive injections that only last two weeks.
The critical difference bwteeen this and previous forms of LARCS is that this has the potential to give control to the women herself. Previous forms of LARCS were entirley dependent on medical help and access to professionals, which is particularly difficult in developing countries.
Some key figures:
- More than 220 million women in developing countries who don't want to get pregnant lack access to contraceptives and voluntary family planning information and services.
- Less than 20 percent of women in Sub-Saharan Africa and barely one-third of women in South Asia use modern contraceptives.
- In 2012, an estimated 80 million women in developing countries had an unintended pregnancy; of those women, at least one in four resorted to an unsafe abortion.
For those concered that the chip could be hacked, the radio waves used are safter than bluetooth so someone would need to touch the skin of the chip's wearer to hack their ovaries.
In theory, it could represent a major breakthough, yet there's still a long way to go its development and testing.
The Bill and Melinda Gates' Foundation backed the project with $4.6 million dollars funding.
They're hoping to have the chip on the market by 2016.
