Technology firm Google has embarked on a project to test a smart contact lens capable of measuring glucose levels in the tears of diabetics.
The soft contact lenses used a wireless chip and glucose sensor embedded between two layers, the company outlined last week. It was testing prototypes capable of generating a glucose reading each second.
Google was also exploring whether the integration of LED lights into the product could act as an early warning signal for when blood sugar levels went above or below certain thresholds.
It said although some people wear glucose monitors with a sensor embedded under their skin, all people with diabetes must still prick their finger and test drops of blood throughout the day. This was ‘disruptive and painful’ meaning many people with diabetes checked their blood glucose less often than they should.
Chips and sensors for the lenses were described as being so small they looked like bits of glitter, with an antenna thinner than a human hair. ‘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 some day lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease,’ a company statement said.
Google has proposed the product to the US Food and Drug Administration but admitted there was still ‘a lot more work to do’ in bringing it to market. Partners were being sought to develop apps that would make the measurements available to patients and their doctors.
BCLA past president Dr Catharine Chisholm said: ‘Being able to continuously monitor the variation in glucose levels that can occur in diabetic patients will be a major step forward in the management of this condition, allowing for better control of the disease and hence better outcomes for both general and eye health.
‘These highly sophisticated lenses, resulting from the synergy between medical, polymer technology and electrical engineering, are still in development – but the BCLA looks forward to our members, as contact lens practitioners, being closely involved in the careful fitting and monitoring of such lenses in cooperation with the patients’ medical practitioners in the future.’
