Robocop. The Six Million Dollar Man. Darth Vader. Pop culture has an age-old love affair with human-machine hybrids. And while it may not be exactly what Philip K. Dick imagined, researchers now believe that going cyborg could be good for the health.

MIT recently conducted a study in Denmark in which microchip technology was used to give seven women an osteoporosis drug. While the drug, Forteo, typically requires one daily injection via needle, the women in the study received up to 19 daily doses via a specially designed chip implanted under the skin.

“It’s almost like ‘Star Trek,’ but now it’s coming to life,” elaborates study co-author Dr. Robert Langer Jr., who first got the idea for the medicinal microchips 15 years ago. “Just send a signal over a special radio wave, and out comes the drug.”

The microchips house small reservoirs of freeze-dried, powdered drugs, which are released into the bloodstream one by one. The timing of the dosages is transmitted via a wireless computer signal. The technology could be ideal for people who take daily intravenous medications for diseases like multiple sclerosis but dislike the routine of a daily shot. Dr. Langer and his team at MicroCHIPS, Inc. say that the chip’s design should have no problem holding up to 365 days worth of medicine.

Study editorial co-author John Watson told CNN, “Some people say ‘I just don’t want an incision’ – so they could opt out easily and elect another approach. On the other hand, there would be some people who would say ‘I want this’ because [they] want it to be forgettable, sort of like a pacemaker.”

So what do you say, readers? Would you be eager to let a microchip dole out your medications?

Image: Electric Piano, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from MarkyBon’s photostream.