This non-invasive technology using extremely small nanoparticles embedded in the contact lens was developed by Chemical and Biochemical Engineering professor Jin Zhang at The University of Western Ontario.
These engineered nanoparticles react with glucose molecules found in tears, causing a chemical reaction that changes their color. The obvious limitations are how the person ‘sees’ colors and that diabetes damages the eye’s natural lens and nerve layer (the retina), so it might not be useful for all diabetics. It’s still in development and hasn’t reached human testing stages yet.
Contact-lens scientist Babak Parviz at the University of Washington has developed a smart lens that measures the blood sugar levels of people with diabetes, by checking sugar levels in tears electronically. His lens has an intricate manufacturing needs an RF power source near it at this point though, and tests haven’t been done to see possible problems between it and the eye.
not the actual lens
Multifunctional electronic contact lenses would possess medical abilities to monitor glucose, cholesterol, sodium, and potassium levels of the user, sending data to medical personnel for analysis through wireless data transmitters. That means all those blood tests and needle fears could be done with also, eventually. They might eventually gain vision expanding or even gaming possibilities.
These technologies have vast potential applications beyond biomedical devices, including for food packaging. For example, nanocomposite films can prevent food spoilage by preventing oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture from reaching fresh meats and other foods, or by measuring pathogenic contamination; others can make packaging increasingly biodegradable.
Source: http://www.nano.org.uk/news/index.php?article=319
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