> British engineers say they have invented a
revolutionary tooth implant
> that works like a mobile phone and
would
not be out of place in a James
> Bond spy movie.
> The "tooth
phone" consists of a tiny vibrator and a radio wave receiver
>
implanted
into a tooth during routine dental surgery. The phone was
> designed
by
James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau.
> The implant does not yet have its
own
microchip installed, but Auger says
> the technology is tried and
tested, and a fully functional phone could be
> put together in no
time
at all.
> "With the current size of microchips, this is feasible.
They
are now small
> enough to implant in the tooth," he said
Tuesday.
> Sound, which comes into the tooth as a digital radio
signal,
is
> transferred to the inner ear by bone resonance, meaning
information
can be
> received anywhere and at any time--and nobody else can
listen
in.
>
> <<...OLE_Obj...>>
> The
invention
raises the prospects of financial traders receiving the
> latest
stock
market bulletins while at the cinema and politicians tuning
> in to
secret briefings from advisers while being quizzed by opponents.
>
Despite its similarity to high-tech gadgets dreamed up by Bond's
faithful
> "Q" sidekick, the inventors believe the gizmo could become
the first in a
> whole suite of nonmedical devices implanted into the
human body.
> Story Copyright © 2001 Reuters Limited. All rights
reserved.
>
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>