Biohacking and Chip Implantation in the Human Hand: An Introduction

Biohacking is a term used to describe people making changes to their bodies to improve their well-being. This includes the implantation of radiofrequency identification implants. This technology for wireless communication is already incorporated into our daily lives as in the use of contactless payment and badges to open doors. Since the first radiofrequency identification implantation in a human in 1998, the possibilities of this technology have dramatically increased, and the number of persons that have been chipped is growing. The hand seems to be the most popular body part to implant these chips because it can easily be positioned close to a reader. Currently, implantation is typically not performed in a medical environment. However, implantation of these devices in humans can result in complications, such as infection and tendon attrition, and the relevant safety implications have not been extensively studied. The scope of this review was to inform the hand surgeon community about the existence of these implants, why they are used, and to open the debate about the possible future role of the hand surgeon in safely implanting these devices and dealing with possible complications.