Kodak plans edible RFID tags

According to the application submitted by the company to the registrar of patents, the edible tags can be used to monitor processes that occur in the body of patients, and in some cases even save the need for surgery, x-rays or treatment in a medical institute ● The tags can be used, among other things, for tests in the digestive system or to monitor the consumption of drugs 

 
The Eastman Kodak company offers an idea that is not easy to digest - edible identification tags that work with radio frequency (RFID). Last January, the photography giant submitted an application to the US Patent Registrar for a patent on food-safe RFID tags. The company's spokesperson refused to elaborate on the new tags, noting that for now the company does not intend to produce them. According to the application submitted to the patent registrar, the edible tags can be used to monitor processes that occur in the body of patients, and in some cases even save the need for surgery, x-rays or treatment in a medical institution.

"With the help of the edible tags, medical tests can be performed without the effort, expense, discomfort, and risk of infection that involve invasive tests," the request states. The tags can be used, among other things, for tests in the digestive system or to monitor the consumption of medicines - for example, to make sure that the patient has actually taken the necessary pills.

Kodak also stated in the request that although RFID tags can already be inserted under the skin of patients, at some point it is necessary to remove these tags surgically. The Kodak tag, on the other hand, can be swallowed by patients, and the medical information is transmitted to an external reader. At the end of the process, the tag is ejected in a natural way: "Within a certain period of time, after swallowing the pill, the body destroys the antenna," the request states.