Smart contact lenses may diagnose diabetes and deliver drugs in retinopathy

The new lenses have been designed to check blood sugar levels and to deliver drugs to the eye in diabetic retinopathy.

In the last several decades, many attempts have been made to monitor glucose levels in tears with smart contact lenses, but they are often not used due to poor wearability.

Dr Sei Kwang Hahn, professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea said

"Among various wearable devices, a smart contact lens is especially promising for health care applications because it can be used as an excellent interface between the human body and an electronic device"

Chemicals on the contact lens bind with glucose and trigger an electrical current change that is proportional to the amount of glucose. The electric current is also used to dissolve gold membranes that seal drug reservoirs, triggering the release of a dose of the drug, Hahn explained.

The researchers have successfully demonstrated the feasibility of smart contact lenses for noninvasive and continuous diabetic diagnosis and diabetic retinopathy therapy.They are hoping to begin human clinical trials in 2021 and have a commercial product as soon as 2023.

For further reference log on to:

D.H. Keum el al., "Wireless smart contact lens for diabetic diagnosis and therapy," Science Advances (2020). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba3252