Breast Implant Maintenance

Breast implants do not last forever and need to be replaced every few years. Patients must return regularly for check-ups, follow-up surgeries, and replacements. Five years after the surgery, the implant has a 7-10% chance of rupturing. At this point, patients have to make the decision to either redo surgery, or risk breakage. Patients must understand that breast implants are a medical device, and need to be maintained properly. After the procedure is complete, the patient receives a warranty card and receipt of their implant. Unless a patient carries their records to every appointment, or has a flawless memory, they do not know who made the implant, what kind of implant it is, or where it came from. Such information comes in handy in the event of breast augmentation issues, health complications, or product recalls. And when such problems arise, patients and physicians will have trouble figuring out what action to take. However this can be solved with VeriTeQ’s Q Inside Safe Technology.

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A New Kind Of Breast Implant

Founded in 1993, VeriTeQ started as a company helping people keep track of their pets with small, implantable microchips. These microchips use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for tracking and identification. RFID devices transmit data wirelessly using radio frequencies. Transitioning to the healthcare market, VeriTeQ modified their device to complement implanted medical devices. VeriTeQ calls their RFID device Q Inside Safety Technology.  Using Q Inside Safety Technology, patients can tag their implants with electronically stored product information. This helps physicians access implant information without referencing paper records, or using invasive methods.

These RFID tags show product details such as model and manufacturing dates. Prior to surgeries, physicians can see what kind of implant was used, how old the implant is, and then figure out when and how to replace it. This makes follow-ups easier because patients will have all of their product information electronically available and wirelessly accessible.

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By purchasing an implant with a VeriTeQ tag, the patient gets added security and health insurance for their product. If anything is wrong with the quality of an implant, physicians can quickly determine which patients are affected. Data stored on tags include serial numbers, product numbers, lot numbers, and any other information regarding production. All of this product information is also collected onto a database. These databases are monitored by VeriTeQ, hospitals, health insurers, and other third parties. In the event of a product recall, such as contaminated batches of saline, physicians can access the database to alert patients.

Availability

Enhanced Labs is the first to purchase silicone breast implants with Q Inside Safety Technology microchips. Clinics partnered with Enhanced Labs are scheduled to release this product late 2013. These patients will be the first to see the benefits from VeriTeQ’s breast implant innovations.