A new kind of electronic birth control has been developed by the biotech company MicroCHIPS in Massachusetts, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The system employs a microchip that can be implanted under the skin to release the birth control hormone levonorgestrel into a user’s body.

A new kind of electronic birth control has been developed by the biotech company MicroCHIPS in Massachusetts, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The system employs a microchip that can be implanted under the skin to release the birth control hormone levonorgestrel into a user’s body.

Designed to last for up to 16 years, the device can be turned on and off using a remote control.

There are already some birth control implants on the market, but the newest design would allow women to control whether or not the implant is activated without having to visit a clinic for an outpatient procedure.


Simon Karger, head of the surgical and interventional business at Cambridge Consultants is quoted as saying: "The value to the patient of these types of implant can be huge and we foresee a future in which a huge range of conditions are treated through smart implanted systems."


The developers are also working on making the device secure from another person activating or deactivating it remotely without the user’s knowledge.