Implantable Technology

Animals are a major part of this world. Humans have relied on them since the beginning. Whether it be for transportation, or food, or companionship, they have always been by our side. While they are normally thought of as abstractly different creatures than humans, we truly are similar. Tim Cannon is trying to convince the world of this with his new company called Livestock Labs which creates implantable technology to track cattle. The crazy part is that he plans on creating implantables for humans in the future.

This company was inspired by Cannon’s obsession with implants. His previous company called Grindhouse Wetware would create implants for humans. Cannon has a LED strip beneath his skin. However, he was not successful. He realized that although he was interested in it, most people are not. With the help of friends, he was able to transition to livestock, a much more appealing business.

This implant is capable of monitoring the speed of the cattle, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, temperature, and activity. The company is still brand new and is in the testing phase with three cows, but they have big plans. They implanted each cow with four devices each, two in the jaw and two between ribs to measure chewing.

With all of the data gathered, they will be able to detect when a cow is ill and even pregnant. Being implanted, the device will be much more accurate than above-skin collars. Farmers will most likely flock to this technology, especially as it advances. At the moment it only costs $20 per cow and is projected to decrease to $10.

The truth is, that these implants really do help the cows. Vets can utilize them to project when an animal is sick and maybe see why they are sick with all of the data they receive. Since they are so relevant to animals, is it also relevant to humans? Are implants the future of science?

Medical companies have been implanting objects into humans for years, but these are commonly mandatory and the patient will die without them. The company Dexcom provides an implant which measures diabetes and then the information can be relayed to the patient through a mobile app. This eliminates the need for diabetics to prick their fingers to test for blood sugar, they are instead immediately notified by the app when there is a problem. All of the statistics can also be saved overtime and sent to a doctor for them to monitor the patient as well.

It truly is not very difficult to implant objects into the body according to Cannon. I even know somebody who implanted themselves with an RFID chip which allowed their arm to communicate with electronics. I honestly do not know what he used the implant for, but some companies have started programs to implant these chips into employees to unlock doors with their arm instead of swiping a card. In the case of the person I know, however, it only worked a couple of times before the battery died. This is the greatest limitation.

Technology is rapidly accelerating, but most of it is limited by batteries. With this limitation, the implant would need to be removed and replaced every couple of years in order for it to continue to function. This would cause these implants to not be permanent and require consistent surgeries. However, this may not be a problem for people seeking these implants. It all depends on what the person is comfortable with. Would you get an implant? What if your company asked you to?