Google has announced that it is working on a smart contact lens that's built to measure glucose levels in tears.
The company notes that over the years many scientists have investigated various body fluids, such as tears, in hopes of find a better way to track glucose levels. Google wondered if miniaturized electronics and an antenna thinner than a human hair might be the solution.
We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second. We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds. It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.
Google says it's in discussions with the FDA and that there's still a lot more work to be done. They plan to look for partners to help bring the smart contact lens to market.
"These partners will use our technology for a smart contact lens and develop apps that would make the measurements available to the wearer and their doctor. We’ve always said that we’d seek out projects that seem a bit speculative or strange, and at a time when the International Diabetes Federation (PDF) is declaring that the world is “losing the battle” against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot."
More details at the link below...
Read More
The company notes that over the years many scientists have investigated various body fluids, such as tears, in hopes of find a better way to track glucose levels. Google wondered if miniaturized electronics and an antenna thinner than a human hair might be the solution.
We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second. We’re also investigating the potential for this to serve as an early warning for the wearer, so we’re exploring integrating tiny LED lights that could light up to indicate that glucose levels have crossed above or below certain thresholds. It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.
Google says it's in discussions with the FDA and that there's still a lot more work to be done. They plan to look for partners to help bring the smart contact lens to market.
"These partners will use our technology for a smart contact lens and develop apps that would make the measurements available to the wearer and their doctor. We’ve always said that we’d seek out projects that seem a bit speculative or strange, and at a time when the International Diabetes Federation (PDF) is declaring that the world is “losing the battle” against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot."
More details at the link below...
Read More