The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has won a US patent for its medical device diagnostic technology.

The technology consists of a chip which is implanted around blood vessels and nerves to detect physiologic and chemical changes occurring in the body.

If any changes are detected , the implantable living chip triggers a message to a wireless device to alert the patient or their physician early on about a problem.

The bio-chip can be used to detect changes in blood protein levels in heart failure patients at an early stage.

The device can also be used by researchers to identify abnormalities, prompting corrective action in experimental drugs and to command other implanted devices including a wireless defibrillator/pacemaker or insulin pumps.