Medical giant Novartis has recently announced that they will be taking on the challenge of commercializing Google’s concept of smart contact lenses.
If they do it right, we may soon be sporting these high tech eyeball mini-computers – and for good medical reasons, too.
It was in January 2014 that Google launched their smart contact lens project that aimed to help diabetic patients. Developed by Brian Otis and Babak Parviz, the smart contact lens was intended to measure glucose levels in tears.
Within the soft contact lens is a tiny computer, about the size of a piece of glitter, which transmits the glucose readings wirelessly through an equally tiny antenna.
The wearer can then check his blood sugar levels with his mobile phone or tablet. If you’re a diabetic, this sure beats having to prick your finger to test a drop of blood every now and then.
Novartis will be funding more research to develop the technology, thus making it safe for medical use of people of all ages.
According to Novartis, aside from managing diabetes, these contact lenses may even have the potential to automatically correct vision problems by helping the eye to auto-focus and adjust.
Imaging having this piece of nanotechnology in your eye. Pretty cool, don’t you think?
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