On Thursday afternoon Google announced that members from their secret Google X-division have been testing a set of “smart contact lenses”. These smart contact lenses are being designed to measure blood glucose levels by using our tears. They are hoping that these new contact lenses can eliminate the painful needle finger-pricks diabetics have to endure.
The objective of these smart lenses is to be able to give accurate blood glucose levels by the use of a person’s very own tears. The lenses contain a small wireless chip and a mini glucose senor that is located in between two layers of soft contact lens material. Instead of setting aside the time to prick your finger, these lenses will automatically read your eyes once every second.
Not only will these lenses read your glucose levels but they can also warn the person when extremely high or low levels have been reached. They will include a small LED light that glows when the person isn’t meeting their levels. These enhancements it will save a diabetic time and money by not having to buy needles every so often. It will also help a diabetic know exactly how their levels are for them in short amount of time.
“It’s still early days for this technology, but we’ve completed multiple
clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype,” said Otis and Parviz the two main creators. “We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease.”
As of now Google is in the process of talking this over with the FDA, and is looking for potential business partners who will invest in the smart contact lenses. More news of Google’s smart contact lenses will be on the way after they continue to test it out.