Smart Contact Lenses Next On Google's Agenda
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
Move aside, Google Glass; the next best thing could be on its way and it’s again coming from the guys at Google once again.
Google Inc. has announced, after a recent meeting with the Food and Drug Administration as reported on by Bloomberg, that it is going to develop smart contact lenses as the next step in is creation of new technology. According to MobiHealth News, Google’s smart contact lenses will be a “noninvasive method of measuring blood glucose levels in people with diabetes.”
“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 is declaring that the world is ‘losing the battle’ against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot,” explained Project co-founders Brian Otis and Babak Parviz on Google’s blog.
They continued, “Over the years, many scientists have investigated various body fluids—such as tears—in the hopes of finding an easier way for people to track their glucose levels. But as you can imagine, tears are hard to collect and study. At Google[x], we wondered if miniaturized electronics—think: chips and sensors so small they look like bits of glitter, and an antenna thinner than a human hair—might be a way to crack the mystery of tear glucose and measure it with greater accuracy.” This inspired the scientists at Google to produce a prototype smart lens they’re now testing.
Many have predicted the future of remote patient monitoring will include wearable and implantable devices, and Google may be making that a reality. “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,” said the project co-founders.
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