Carried out the procedure in his bedroom

Smartwatches may be all the rage, but a teenager has taken the concept of tech wearables a step further by implanting a microchip in his own hand.

Bryon Wake uses the chip, which is the size of a grain of rice, to unlock his smartphone and play music with the wave of his hand.

It’s thought that the 15-year-old is the is the youngest ‘biohacker’ to have implanted the ‘nXT’ chip.

Bryon Wake, 15, (pictured) is the is the youngest ‘biohacker’ to have implanted the ‘nXT’ chip (the site of implantation is circled). He uses the chip to unlock his smartphone, play music and open doors with the wave of his hand

Wake carried out the procedure himself using a hypodermic needle to implant the transponder, which can be read by Android devices.

It’s encased in bio-safe glass, which is also used for the chips implanted into dogs and cats.

However, it hasn't been certified for by any regulatory agency for implantation or use inside the human body.

The chip works by using near field communication (NFC) which emits a low power radio-frequency signature to communicate with a smartphone, for example.

It can be programmed to do everything from unlocking doors and starting cars to operating a computer.

Wake carried out the ‘operation’ himself using a hypodermic needle to implant the transponder, which can be read by Android devices. It is encased in bio-safe glass and is the size of a grain of rice

THE POPULARITY OF CHIPS The xNT transponder chip is the brainchild of Amal Graafstra, a pioneer of the micro-chip movement. Graafstra founded Dangerous Things, the US company that supplies the microchips and brought them into mass production through a crowdfunding campaign. It is believed there are 10,000 people across the world using microchip technology inside their bodies. Swedish company Epicenter has implanted them into its employees, allowing them to use a photocopier, open security doors and even pay for their lunch with their hands. Byron will be reviewing the device for the company, which warns users online: 'The xNT transponder device has not been tested or certified by any regulatory agency for implantation or use inside the human body.' There are more extreme examples of biohacking. In 2013, Tim Cannon, based in Germany, inserted a biometric sensor a little larger than a matchbox between his skin and arm tissue, which tracks changes in his body's temperature. Cannon created the sensor, called Circadia 1.0, using a Bluetooth connector, computer chip, and fitted it with LED lights. These LEDs act as ‘status lights’ that can be used to light up a tattoo on his arm, under which the sensor is fitted. The case of the sensor is easily visible, bulging beneath the skin, and no doctor would carry out the procedure, meaning he did it himself without an anaesthetic, including stitches. Advertisement

So far Wake, of Martock, Somerset, has used it to unlock his phone automatically, play music on his Bluetooth speakers and share his contact details details by touching his hand against another person’s Android smartphone.

‘I'm trying to get it to unlock my computer, which is a bit harder because you have to know some coding,’ he said.

Wake ordered the chip and insertion kit from a US website for $99 (£66) without the knowledge of his parents, parents Lilian, 37, and Nicholas, 42.

Despite the instructions recommending the help of a registered nurse or doctor, the teenager carried out the DIY procedure on his left hand in his bedroom a month ago and insists it was safe and ‘easy’.

‘It’s not as though I was pumping metal into my hand,’ he said.

‘It only hurts when you pierce the skin, and then it feels fine.

'In the days after, it didn't hurt it just ached a bit like a tooth ache.

‘My parents were downstairs at the time. It was only a little cut with two or three drops of blood.’

‘I didn't tell my parents until three days later. They took it better than expected because they had already told me not to do it.

‘Afterwards I had checked it out at the doctor who said it was fine and they were happy.

‘My grandpa is a surgeon and he said that he was proud, and my mum wasn't expecting that at all.

Bryon Wake thinks the stunt has been well received among his friends.

‘None of them have said a bad word about it. They all know I'm crazy. My form teacher thinks it's innovative.’

But his mother said: ‘We’re still not entirely certain about it.’

Despite the instructions recommending the help of a registered nurse or doctor, the teenager carried out the DIY procedure on his left hand using a hypodermic needle (pictured) a month ago and insists it was safe and ‘easy’. He has since had his handiwork checked by a doctor

The teenager, who attends Huish Episcopi Academy near Yeovil wants to work with computers when he leaves school and has received support from Professor Kevin Warwick, the world’s first ‘cyborg’ and leading expert on cybernetics.

Professor Warwick underwent an operation to surgically implant a silicon transponder chip in his forearm at the Department of Cybernetics at the University of Reading in 1998.

The professor, who is now deputy vice-chancellor of research at Coventry University, said there are no risks to microchips.

He said: ‘Quite a few people have them, but he may well be the youngest.

‘There are all sorts of possibilities for it in the future and I think one is a device as an extra piece of information for a passport so that people could be dealt with more quickly.