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Using RFID Tags to Make Teeth
Roland Piquepaille writes "If you live in France, and soon elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S., and if you need a dental prosthesis, chances are good that RFID tags are involved in the manufacturing process, according to this article from the RFID Journal. The tag is embedded by the dental lab in the cast which will be used to make the prosthesis. Then it is used to record the whole history of the crown, a process requested by a European sanitary regulation. Before delivering the bridge to your dentist, all the data is copied to a smart card that will be given to you. The company is also studying the idea to put directly the tag inside the prosthesis. Maybe one day, when your dentist installs your new bridge, you'll also be the owner of a deactivated RFID tag inside it. This summary contains more details and a picture of the RFID tag used to record the life of your next crown."
I would rather go toothless than have my teeth broadcast my whereabouts to snoopers, offical or otherwise.
May the Maths Be with you!
Old school Penny-Arcade once more proves its value. Hehe.
How long before they identify a victim by the RFID tag embedded in his or her tooth with, of course, some whiz-bang 3D interface.
Personally I find this a little hard to believe (and no, I haven't read the article - it's already /.'ed).
My father works for a company that makes the casting materials used for making crowns & other dental stuff. As a result, I've had to listen to him explain the casting process in great detail many times.
The process used is a lost-wax casting process - a wax model is made, then a ceramic mold is made from the wax model and the metal is poured into this mold. The problem with putting a RFID tag in (in any step of this process) is that very high temperatures are involved (both in firing the ceramic mold and in pouring the molten metal into the mold), so any RFID tag would probably be vaporized (or at least rendered inoperable).
Of limited imagination, are we? You can't envision a scenario whereby it could be used maliciously? That it is not always for the greater good?
I'm glad some of us can.
It helps us track when employees [...] just go goof off which a great many do.
Maybe you should hire different employees. Or maybe they should hire a different boss.
The RFID tags are embedded in the _cast_ made of the teeth, in the manufacturing process, not in the actual fake teeth/toothwork itself! RTFA RTFS RTFAnything! Jeez.
Read the fine summary yourself. This part, in particular:
The company is also studying the idea to put directly the tag inside the prosthesis.
I don't know about you, but I see just the mere suggestion of implanting what amount to tracking devices in dental implants as terribly damaging to our society. People have been worried for decades about dental implants being used to track them. Sometimes they think the implants might be installed by the government, other times by aliens. These thoughts are generally paranoid delusions due perhaps to mental illness or conspiracy theories and poor education. But someday soon it might actually be a legitimate concern.
Is there some reason that they can't just slap a bar coded sticker on the mold?