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Google has made headlines again, only this time it’s with their health related “gadget,” the smart contact lens. The lens is designed to aide diabetics in monitoring glucose levels.
The smart contact lens utilizes its technology to allow diabetics to measure their glucose levels. The lens was only just revealed on the Google X lab blog and is still in the testing phase but so far it looks quite promising. The lens prototypes use small wireless chips that have a tiny glucose sensor built in to them, these chips are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material. Still, we have to wonder just how comfortable that could really be…
According to Google, who have been investigating how well different body fluids track glucose levels in the body. This research led them to find out that tears are actually a very good indicator of the body’s glucose level. So just how does the lens work? It is capable of taking a glucose reading once every second utilizing its tiny sensor which apparently is about the size of tiny flecks of glitter. Google says that they are currently working on being able to add LED lights in to the lens that will warn diabetics when their glucose levels reach certain notable points.
Will the smart contact lens ever become an actual “thing”? Google says that they are working with the FDA to make smart contact lenses available on the market and in the mean time they are also working on an app. The smart contact lens app will not only make glucose level measurements available to the wearer of the lens but also to their doctor.
Sure, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen such a product, but this time with the Google name and funding behind it, there is a real possibility that this product could finally make it to the market.
