Over 400 people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and that figure is on the rise. Often having to endure painful treatments such as daily finger pricks to ensure blood levels are sufficient, new treatment and monitoring methods are welcomed by patients. Now, researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea (POSTECH) may have just helped in making their lives that little bit more enjoyable.
The team has invented a new, smart contact lens and eyeglass combination which hopes to stop the endless monotony and pain of daily finger pricks and alert sufferers automatically if their blood levels need attention. By continuously monitoring their levels in the blood, the risks of having an attack are reduced considerably as people would be able to act more quickly.
The way in which this revolutionary technology works is by having the eyeglasses wirelessly communicate with the contact lens that will disperse the drugs as and when needed. Using voice commands, the patient will be able to send a signal to the chip in the circuit of the lens that tells it to release the drugs. The chip then sends an electric current into one of the channels containing the drug which dissolves the membrane and releases the medication. These lenses are potentially able to last up to one month, and researchers are hoping they will soon be able to develop them to medicate automatically, giving users the freedom of not having to worry about when their next medication needs to be taken.
As well as diabetes, researchers are confident that the smart contact lens could also be used to treat other eye related diseases and if made readily available, they could change the lives of millions. Other companies such as Google are also working on similar avenues, so watch this space for more to come.
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