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READING (Britain) –A human has been implanted with a computer virus for the first time in the world in an experiment to help better understand medical technologies.
The volunteer, Dr Mark Gasson, who works as a professor at the University of Reading, contaminated a computer chip which was then inserted into his hand.
The device, which enables him to pass through security doors and activate his mobile phone, is a sophisticated version of ID c hips used to tag pets.
In trials, Gasson showed that the chip was able to pass on the computer virus to external control systems.
If other implanted chips had then connected to the system they too would have been corrupted, he said.
Like cosmetic surgery
Gasson admits that the test is a proof of principle but he thinks it has important implications for a future where medical devices, such as pacemakers and cochlear implants, become more sophisticated, and risk being contaminated by other human implants.
"With the benefits of this type of technology come risks.
"We may improve ourselves in some way but much like the improvements with other technologies, mobile phones for example, they become vulnerable to risks, such as security problems and computer viruses," he told BBC News.
He predicts that wider use will be made of implanted technology.
"This type of technology has been commercialised in the United States as a type of medical alert bracelet, so that if you're found unconscious you can be scanned and your medical history brought up."
He believes there will be a demand for these non-essential applications, much as people pay for cosmetic surgery.
"If we can find a way of enhancing someone's memory or their IQ then there's a real possibility that people will choose to have this kind of invasive procedure."
Gasson, who works with the university's School of Systems Engineering, will present the results of his research at the International Symposium for Technology and Society in Australia next month.
Ethical point of view
Prof Rafeal Capurro f the Steinbeis Transfer Institute of Information Ethics in Germany, who contributed to a 2005 ethical study for the European Commission that looked at the development of digital implants and possible abuse of them, will also talk at the event.
In a seperate interview with BBC News, he said the research done by Gasson was "interesting."
However, he added: "If someone can get online access to your implant, it could be serious."
"From an ethical point of view, the surveillance of implants can be both positive and negative.
"Surveillance can be part of medical care, but if someone wants to do harm to you, it could be a problem," he said.
In addition, he said, that there should be caution if implants with surveillance capabilities started to be used outside of a medical setting.— BBCNews
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