2. What is the Phoenix Chip? The phoenix chip is a tiny computer chip that monitors eye pressure in glaucoma patients. The chip is the size of an “N” on a penny.
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4. I don’t have glaucoma, why should I care about this technology? It is estimated that over 4 million Americans have glaucoma but only half of those know they have it. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness There is no cure (yet) for glaucoma Everyone is at risk for glaucoma There may be no symptoms to warn you
5. This computer will be able to accurately gage the pressure within the eyes of glaucoma patients. Advancements in this tracking device will continue to improve once this product hits the market, making it better and better.
6. Environmental impacts The system wakes every 15 minutes to take measurements and consumes an average of 5.3 nanowatts. To charge the battery, it requires exposure to 10 hours of indoor light each day or 1.5 hours of sunlight. It can store up to a week's worth of information. The Phoenix chip uses a special design and has a sleep mode for ultra-low power consumption.
7. Political impacts Whoever can make the most efficient computer will come out on top. There is much skepticism about this new technology due to what are perceived as extreme advances in technology
8. Social and technological impact: This computer is revolutionary; it is unlike anything we have ever seen before. People are going to always expect more and more to satisfy their wants and needs.
9. Legal impacts on society People may claim that the chip could have more damaging affects to the eye than predicted; it may not work as was intended. There is always a possibility the device could get stuck or improperly placed in the eye. Probability of this may be minimal, but human error is likely to occur at some point
10. Economical impact If computer is very energy efficient (very low power) and battery can be charged by the sunlight, money is then saved. As the technology becomes more common, the price of the technology will go down.
11. The development of the Phoenix Chip needs to comply with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
12. What does the future hold? This world’s smallest computer is potentially capable of doing many things in addition to what it can do for glaucoma patients. In the future, it may be able to use sensors for smart buildings and small homes, sensors for industrial monitoring, body-worn medical electronics, next generation small credit cards, and many more.
