Researchers from with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology located in the Republic of Korea are working to develop a contact lens which will monitor glucose levels that is comfortable enough to wear, and claims that it could be ready for commercial use within the next 5 years as published in Science Advances.
Diabetes is the result of unmanageable glucose levels and it requires individuals with the disease to monitor their glucose levels and adjust them as required with medicine or insulin. Current methods of glucose monitoring will unfortunately require the pricking of a finger in order to retrieve a blood sample to use for testing. The vast majority of people don’t like this, and some will even lapse in monitoring as a result. For this reasons scientists have been working to develop alternative methods for monitoring.
This new method will employ the use of contact lenses. Level of glucose in the tears follows that of the levels of glucose found in the blood in many respects and has been demonstrated in prior research. As of present there are not any contact lens products available because they are made of hard materials that prove to be uncomfortable on the eye. Breaking apart the pieces of their monitoring device and the encapsulating each in a soft polymer, then connecting them together in a mesh that is flexible has enabled the researchers to overcome the problem of uncomfortability and eye irritation.
The polymer used in these lenses is the same type of polymer that is currently used in conventional contact lenses. Components of the monitoring device are a graphene based sensor, LED display, a rectifier, and a stretchable antenna. Power source for the sensor is external, held in the air at a minimum distance of 9 mm away from the lens. The LED will glow during normal conditions and when high glucose levels are detected it will turn off. Flexibility of the sensor and lens components allows for the removal of the device in the same manner as any normal contact lens would be removed. Integration of this display into the smart lens wireless real time operation eliminates the need for additional measurement equipment.
Thus far the team reports that the lens system has been tested in rabbit models and has been observed to function as designed and not cause any eye irritation. The team looked through the lens with a camera to make sure that sensor embedded in the edges of the lens would not impede vision. The team plans to continue refining the system and believe that the product will be ready for commercial use within the next 5 years.
