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Researchers Unveil Next-Generation Contact Lens to Monitor Blood Sugar and Glaucoma
A unique design makes it easier to see through and more comfortable to wear.
By Kent Peterson
Move over, Google, Apple, and anyone else who has tried to perfect a contact lens that monitors blood sugar. There’s a new lens in town, and it promises important advantages.
Researchers in South Korea have shown off a working prototype of a contact lens with built-in wireless smart sensors. Unlike previous lenses, this one is made with transparent and flexible materials.
Other attempts to make glucose-sensing contact lenses have struggled because they were made with rigid materials that were uncomfortable to wear and their sensors blocked part of the field of vision. The new lens and sensors are said to overcome both obstacles.
Using the lens
Glucose levels in tears rise and fall just as glucose does in your bloodstream, so tears can provide precise and accurate measures of where you stand.
Experts hope that the new lens could one day eliminate the need to prick your finger to measure blood glucose levels. Instead, the amount of glucose in tears would be continuously monitored while you wear the lens, with real-time data transmitted to your smartphone or another diabetes device.
That’s not all
Not only does the new lens track glucose levels, it also enables wearers to monitor harmful pressure that could build up in the eye. That’s a risk factor for glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness. People with diabetes have an above-average chance of developing glaucoma. The lens could help people with glaucoma get early diagnosis and treatment before the disease worsens.