VivoKey Apex Flex

The VivoKey Apex Flex is the ultimate cryptobionic platform for digital identity, cryptography, and blockchain applications secured in a subdermal NFC implant.

PRE-RELEASE SALE – The Apex Flex is currently in pre-release. You can purchase Apex Flex and it will ship to you, but documentation is scarce and support is provided exclusively through the Dangerous Things community forum at this time.

$349.00

More Information

The Apex Flex is a patent pending subdermal contactless secure element enabling fully autonomous separation of your cryptographic keys and functions from vulnerable general computing platforms such as your smartphone or computer. The ability to not only carry your OTP, PGP, and other cryptographic keys with you at all times, but also perform cryptographic functions in vivo (generate OTP codes, encrypt & decrypt data, etc.) without ever revealing private keys to the NFC interface you are interacting with is a huge step forward for personal digital identity and data security.

Apex Flex Kit Contents

Your Apex Flex kit comes with the following items.

  • Apex Flex implant sealed in vial of chlorhexidine solution
  • Custom 4G (5mm) flex installation needle (unlubricated)
  • 1 packet of sterile surgical needle lubricant

Use of your Apex Flex

Once you have your Apex Flex installed, grab your Android phone. install the VivoKey platform app and the Fidesmo app. Open the Fidesmo app, scan your Apex Flex, and you will see a list of supported applets you can deploy to your Apex Flex. Applets are available from multiple vendors on the Fidesmo platform, and VivoKey also publishes their own applets such as our OTP applet and NDEF applet.

VivoKey Applets

VivoKey has created a number of applets to run on your Apex Flex! Here are some links;

• OTP – This One Time PIN applet replaces many two-factor Authenticator type applications that store OTP keys on the phone itself, making them vulnerable to loss, theft, etc. With the OTP applet running on your Apex Flex, you only have to install the VivoKey Authenticator app on ANY phone to generate and display your OTP codes, without risk of compromising your OTP keys.

• NAK – The Not A (Tesla) Keycard applet is a stand-in replacement for the Tesla Keycard. With this applet installed you can register your Apex Flex as a keycard and use it to get in and drive away.

• NDEF – If you want to store easily sharable data on your Apex Flex like URLs, vCard contact data, or even raw binary or text data, the NDEF applet allows you to format a data container for standard NFC data sharing. The available container sizes range from 1kB to 16kB!

Other applets are in the works at the moment including U2F, PGP, etc.

ATTENTION – Fidesmo Pay is not supported for Apex Flex or any implants. Payment features are only enabled for EMV certified products which have been approved by Mastercard and/or Visa payment networks. At this time, there are no payment networks that have authorized implantable payment devices.

Professional installation notes

The Apex Flex is approximately 7.5mm wide by 28mm long, with an average thickness of 0.4mm. Installation should always be done by a professional.

  • Do not install under any gripping surface (e.g. no palm side installations)
  • Do not install atop or parallel to any joints (flex devices are only “semi-flexible”)
Scalpel Procedure
  • Make a 8mm wide incision in skin
  • Lift & separate dermal layer using elevator tool
  • The subdermal “pocket” should be at least 35mm deep
  • Remove all tools from installation site
  • Slide flex device under skin with sterile gloves – no forceps or tools
  • Suture to close wound – do not pierce flex device while suturing
Needle Procedure
  • Incise skin using a 4g (5mm diameter) piercing needle, bevel side down
  • Carefully insert the needle to a depth of at least 35mm (video)
  • Be sure to lift the skin ahead of the needle’s point as you insert it
  • Slide flex device under skin with sterile gloves – no forceps or tools
  • Achieve complete hemostasis before applying bandaging
  • Use re-enforced butterfly bandage or dermal strips to pull wound closed
  • Apply transparent film (tegaderm) dressing overtop the dermal strips
  • While hemostasis is maintained, do not remove bandaging for 7-10 days

Important things to know about the Apex Flex

– The biopolymer is ISO 10993 and USP Class IV tested and certified, however the final product has not been tested post-processing, meaning material changes during processing could render the final product unsafe in some way.

– There is no “preferred” location for installation of a flex device. Customers are free to install a flex into any area of the body their installation professional is comfortable with, as long as it is in the fascia layer between dermis and muscle tissue and not in an area of flexion or under a gripping surface. Even though we use images which suggest installation above the second metacarpal of one of the fingers, it is not an ideal location for such a device. Fingers are filled with tendons, nerve bundles, and very important things all packed into a very tight space. We urge you to think about easier locations like the back of the hand or in the arm/wrist.