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In
1991 a United States company called American Veterinary
Identification Devices, or AVID for short, came out
with a new way of tagging pets. Before that, pets like
cats and dogs could be given collars with metal or plastic
tags showing their name and their owner's phone number.
But collars sometimes get lost, or taken off. In some
places including NSW pets had a tattoo put in their
ear when they were desexed. Cats or dogs that were found
with a tattoo were kept for longer before being put
down, because they were obviously pets. But some people
still worried about their pets, even with a tattoo and
a collar.
AVID
came up with a high-tech answer.
AVID
technology
AVID technology involves a microchip about the size
of a grain of rice. Each microchip is a read-only device
that has a unique number. This chip is placed under
the animal's skin. It is injected under the skin using
a syringe that looks very large. It has to be big because
the needle has to fit the chip inside it. But the makers
say it doesn't hurt the animal. Vets pick a spot where
the animal's skin is loose, for example at the back
of a cat's neck. The syringe goes through the skin,
but it doesn't touch the muscle under the skin. The
chip then gets injected so that it sits between the
muscle and the skin. If you run your hand over the animal
you can feel a tiny lump, that's the chip.
The
next part of the technology is the microchip reader.
This is a hand-held scanner that the vet can point at
the animal near the chip. Although it can't touch the
chip through the skin, it can still read the number
on the chip. There's a readout on the back of the microchip
reader that shows the number on the chip. You can also
plug the reader straight into a computer.
Because
the microchip reader reads the chip without actually
touching it, it is called Remote Frequency Identification,
or RF-ID for short. Click
here for more information about the chip and reader.
Central
database
The idea is that there's a central database that lists
animals and their RF-ID number. If your pet goes missing,
wherever it turns up a vet can scan the chip and read
the number. They can log into the centralised database
and enter the number straight from the microchip reader.
That will tell them the owner's name and phone number,
and they can just ring the owner and tell them they've
got their pet.
The
AVID technology is an information system that keeps
records on individual animals, and allows those animals
to be identified and linked up with other information
about them, like who owns them.
The
Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has a display of AVID technology
[PH materials] as part of its Cyberworlds:
computers and connectiions exhibition.
AVID
technology was invented to help find lost pets, and
it works really well. But an information system that
good wouldn't stop there. Some people looked at this
technology and decided it could be used with people
instead of animals. The United States armed forces use
AVID technology as part of their information system
called DMPITS. The microchip
isn't injected under a person's skin. Instead, they
seal it inside a plastic wristband. But apart from that,
it works in exactly the same way as with pets.
Whether
it's used with animals or with people, AVID technology
is information technology that is used as part of a
control system.
Want
to know all about microchips used for identification?
Here's
a great place to start.
Activity
Identify issues of ownership, accuracy, security and
privacy of information that would apply to AVID technology.
Discuss
the ethical considerations for organisations choosing
to use AVID technology.
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