New chip technology increases information security and exchange | 07.18.2006 | 03:29:47 | Views: 5627 | ID: July 18 '06: New advances in chip technology have the potential to increase personal and supply chain information security - both of which have far reaching implications for homeland security and responder preparedness issues according to recent announcements. Information Week reported Monday that a new computer chip designed by Hewlett Packer called the "Memory Spot", is about the size of a half of a grain of rice and can hold up to four megabits of information. The implications, the designers of the chip say, could mean that biometric information and supply chain data currently both supported by radio frequency identification chips could become more secure and have a faster transfer rate. Additionally, Reuters reported Tuesday morning that RFID technology is being considered for use in the operating room to help track sponges used to clean surgical areas. Using RFID, medical personnel could be able to scan the patient to find out whether any sponges were left inside the body during operation - a limited problem doctors said - but one that could be avoided saving time during an emergency situation. Similarly, HP labs said the new Memory Spot has possible applications which include "hospital wristbands containing patient medical information or authentication tags for prescription drugs, costly electronic components and other frequently counterfeited items." Though the Memory Spot is more expensive to manufacture than RFID, it is different because unlike RFID which serves as "a pointer or reference to a database entry," the Memory Spot stores the information on the chip itself. RFID relays the information from a central database. The chip has an information transfer rate of about 10 Mbps, "10 times faster than the Bluetooth wireless protocol and comparable to an 802.11b WiFi connection. It operates at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. RFID chips, which operate at 13.56 MHz, typically transfer data at a rate of 10 to 100 Kbps," Information Weekly reported.
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