Researchers Develop Microscopic RFID Chip to Embed in Human Cells

Researchers at Stanford University are now several phases into a development project to create a passive, 60 GHz RFID transponder that is small enough to be inserted into a human body's cell. Thus far, the group has been able to scale the chip and antenna down to about 22 microns (0.0009 inch) wide—one fifth the diameter of an average human hair—which is small enough that it could be inserted inside a cell, and thus be read throughout a person's body. The chip, in fact, has been inserted into a mouse melanoma cell. RFID could also be placed within a mass of cells, such as a tumor.