Utilizing ST's world-leading MEMS biosensor and actuator manufacturing technology
Applicable to various fields including healthcare
Realization of mass production of Bluechiip's patented tracking tag technology

STMicroelectronics ( www.st.com ), the world's leading manufacturer of MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) devices for consumer electronics and mobile devices, and bluechip, a startup that developed a groundbreaking tracking solution, announced that they are collaborating to produce proprietary MEMS-based tracking tags applicable to various markets, starting with the healthcare sector such as biobanks.

Because this bluechiip tracking tag is a mechanical device, it can withstand extreme high and low temperatures and read sample IDs under such conditions, as well as possessing durability against gamma rays. Due to this robustness, it offers greater benefits than existing identification or tracking solutions such as labels, barcodes, and RFID technology, providing the superior data accuracy required, particularly in the rapidly growing, workforce-intensive healthcare market such as biobanks.

In March 2009, TIME magazine selected biobanks as one of the "Top 10 Ideas That Are Changing the World." Biobanks are growing at an astonishing pace worldwide. According to a recent survey, hundreds of millions of tissue samples are stored in biobanks in the United States, and over 1 billion tissue samples are stored globally. Recently, in a report titled "Biobanking for Medical R&D: Technology and Market 2010-2025," Visiongain projected that the biobanking market (revenue from biobanking resources and services) reached $8 billion in 2009 and is expected to reach $45 billion by 2025.

This proprietary tag technology will first be molded and attached to test tubes or vials to identify, track, search, monitor, and store valuable and irreplaceable biological specimens, such as tissues, embryos, and umbilical cord blood, in the ever-expanding biobanking market. While this BlueChip tracking technology is initially applied in the medical field, it will also be available for applications in pathology, clinical trials, biorepositories, and forensics. Furthermore, it can be utilized in market sectors such as security, defense, industrial, manufacturing, waste, and aerospace.

Brett Schwarz, CEO of bluechiip, stated, "With its accumulated technological expertise in MEMS and robust manufacturing capabilities, ST is the perfect partner for producing bluechiip's innovative tracking tags. These tags will revolutionize the way critical assets are tracked in various types of markets..."