Following a “first strike” ceremony featuring a contingent from Wisconsin, the first Wisconsin quarters began rolling off the assembly line here and at the mint in Philadelphia. They’ll continue to be minted for the next 10 weeks until an estimated 400 million to 500 million will be circulating through Americans’ pockets and purses.
Soon, Wisconsin’s quarters will be plunked into soda machines and Salvation Army red kettles, tossed into church collection plates and casino slot machines and wind up in kids’ piggy banks and tollbooths for those who have to travel through Illinois.
Daily Archives: October 14, 2004
FDA Approves Use of Chip in Patients
Medical milestone or privacy invasion? A tiny computer chip approved Wednesday for implantation in a patient’s arm can speed vital information about a patient’s medical history to doctors and hospitals. But critics warn that it could open new ways to imperil the confidentiality of medical records.
The Food and Drug Administration (news – web sites) said Wednesday that Applied Digital Solutions of Delray Beach, Fla., could market the VeriChip, an implantable computer chip about the size of a grain of rice, for medical purposes.
With the pinch of a syringe, the microchip is inserted under the skin in a procedure that takes less than 20 minutes and leaves no stitches. Silently and invisibly, the dormant chip stores a code that releases patient-specific information when a scanner passes over it.