Google new invention: Glucose monitoring contact lenses

The latest project from Google X is a smart contact lens, a tiny flexible computer capable of monitoring glucose levels in tears. Researchers at Google are hopeful that one day this technology might be used to help diabetes patients better control their disease.

This device is powered by harvesting radio waves from the air. A minute capacitor harvests RF power and creates a little bit of static electric charge on the chip. The chip itself uses just one microwatt of power to operate. That's one one-millionth of the amount of power required by your phone.

Source

This is one awesome tech Google is developing that will help around 300 million diabetics world wide monitor their glucose levels in real time, with a much less invasive system than current tech:



Continue monitoring is one of the key aspects needed for the development of an artificial pancreas capable of controlling in an autonomous way sugar levels, in actuality there is no long lasting reliable continuous monitoring. the other big key would be to develop the algorithms to control the insulin dosage but that is another history.

The lenses itself its a wonderful micro computer attached to a micro glucose sensor, working with static.

"I can say we have functional prototypes," said Brian Otis, the project Lead at Google X. "We have integrated circuits that have been miniaturized to the point where they look like a piece of glitter integrated inside the soft contact lens material."

Nonetheless Google expects at least five more years of research before the first device reach the public.

source with a video
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another source

reply to post by Indigent


My guess is they will soon also start sneaking in cameras into those contact lenses. Using the static energy it uses from radio waves , it will then broadcast radio waves into your phone allowing them to know where you are, what your doing, what your looking at , who you are talking with. Then cross referencing that data into facial recognition software, they could then locate suspected criminals who like to fly under the radar.

Also these lenses could also be furbished into speakers. Using the small air pocket between your eye and the lens as a buffer to receive movement then transferred into radio waves again sneakily into your phone allowing them to not only see what your are doing but also hear what you are doing.

I don't trust any products google comes out with. As 90% of them collect data that is then stored for their convenience.

Great idea that "can" save lives. But I just don't see the practicality of it. Lancing is pain free and takes about 30 seconds, why would you spend a couple grand on contacts that save you 30 seconds of time?

P.s. Another thought, if this product becomes a success who Is to say that they won't start making contacts that are for optical reasons. They could make contacts that all you need to do is download a friendly google ap that allows you to sync them to your phone allowing you to create custom colors depending on your mood. A great "front" to back up what I said above.

Just my 2 cents

TheLotLizard
reply to post by Indigent

 

Great idea that "can" save lives. But I just don't see the practicality of it. Lancing is pain free and takes about 30 seconds, why would you spend a couple grand on contacts that save you 30 seconds of time?

Because there is a delay between your real glucose levels and the glucose levels in your fingertips, its not continuous and cannot be use to control automatically insulin pumps.

The other part of your post if just a waste in this thread and i warm people this is not the intent in the op dont derail the thread

reply to post by Indigent


So there is no delay in insulin levels to your eyes? As it is just a different area of your body.

I'm saying why can't they make something besides contacts? Why can't it be a watch that monitors your levels real time? Contacts don't last forever and you will need to buy new ones, which aren't going to be cheap. A watch would be a device that will last for years using little maintenance ,easily removeable, and cheaper in the long run.

And how am derailing your thread I was completely on topic as I was talking about the contact lenses only. I was giving you my honest opinion about how i felt about them.

reply to post by TheLotLizard


Only exposed fluids in the body to determinate glucose are saliva and tears, there must be less possible interference in the tears than saliva.

www.sciencedaily.com...

Other than that for a continue measuring the only way would be a subcutaneous implant, the current tech works for 3 days.

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About price i haven't see anything yet, dont see how something like this could cost 1k

Who would put that into their eye...? They have way better stuff to monitor glucose without jamming something into your eye.

reply to post by 3u40r15m


its a contact lense, nothing else, the metallic parts dont touch you as they are inside the flexible polymer

Lancing is pain free and takes about 30 seconds, why would you spend a couple grand on contacts that save you 30 seconds of time?

reply to post by TheLotLizard


You are obviously not a diabetic. I am. And lancing is NOT pain free, and doing it 6-10 times a day becomes a very tedious task.

This device would be a godsend for diabetics. Period.

reply to post by TheLotLizard

And how am derailing your thread I was completely on topic as I was talking about the contact lenses only. I was giving you my honest opinion about how i felt about them.

I'm sorry i got irritated by your comment, so ill try to explain better what i meant.

I don't trust any products google comes out with. As 90% of them collect data that is then stored for their convenience.

This is a great invention that only happens to be developed by google, it could have been anyone else but google did it first so converting this thread into a google bashing fest is derailing the thread.

My guess is they will soon also start sneaking in cameras into those contact lenses. Using the static energy it uses from radio waves , it will then broadcast radio waves into your phone allowing them to know where you are, what your doing, what your looking at , who you are talking with. Then cross referencing that data into facial recognition software, they could then locate suspected criminals who like to fly under the radar. Also these lenses could also be furbished into speakers.

Using the small air pocket between your eye and the lens as a buffer to receive movement then transferred into radio waves again sneakily into your phone allowing them to not only see what your are doing but also hear what you are doing.

If you are going to take a conspiracy theory angle you need to use an apex of reality, if you read the article in the op you would see this work with a capacitor harvesting radio waves to generate static, the device works on 1 microwatt, putting on top of that a camera, ram, higher processing abilities to send the video data, and possibly more storage, it would be necessary much more power of what this can generate rendering your idea highly unlikely.

I don't know but the idea seems like a god send, but don't most people have to replace their contacts every so often? I know they have ones that can be worn for 24 hours but when you do that you are risking damage to the cornea and let me tell you an ulcer on the cornea is not to be taken lightly. If they ever get this to the market, I think the only way it would work is to be implanted as a lens as a lens is for cateract surgery as this would need to be worn 24/7 would it not?

reply to post by whatnext21


Yes eyes need oxygen and current contact lenses cannot diffuse enough, that's why they cannot be used 24/7, new polymers in the future will solve this problem, but the future could be a couple of years or never. Other thing is that the sensors don't have many uses i think, so i presume this would have to be inexpensive and disposable.

Indigent
reply to post by 3u40r15m

 

its a contact lense, nothing else, the metallic parts dont touch you as they are inside the flexible polymer

I know it's a contact lens but it's no ordinary lens. Seems a bit much just to monitor glucose...

reply to post by Indigent


As I said in the other thread, I find this incredibly interesting not only because of the new approach to testing but because this comes from a tech source and not company whose sole purpose is medical research. My husband has been a type1 diabetic for almost 25 years and the cost and the constant blood letting for blood sugar testing can become something akin to torture at times. The focus of the diabetic industry must not only create innovation but must make sure that any new approach is a money making proposition not just once or twice but for the entire lifetime of the diabetic.

The other thing that occurred to me after reading this is that technology like this could help LEO identify and act appropriately when dealing with a seemingly non-compliant person. Being married to a diabetic for as long as I have I always shudder when reading threads and news stories about the police shooting a person who is acting strangely and not complying with commands of the LEO on the scene. More than once has he been dragged out of his parked car and searched because someone called in to report a person using a hypodermic needle, dare I say it, out in public.

TheLotLizard
reply to post by Indigent

 

I'm saying why can't they make something besides contacts? Why can't it be a watch that monitors your levels real time? Contacts don't last forever and you will need to buy new ones, which aren't going to be cheap. A watch would be a device that will last for years using little maintenance ,easily removeable, and cheaper in the long run.

The Glucowatch was on the market for a couple of years but was discontinued in 2008 I think due to the expensive nature of production and because the watch tested levels through the skin one would still have to use the regular monitors and test strips just to be sure. So it really was a redundant piece of tech. As I stated above and others here have stated, testing as it stands today is neither cheap nor is it painless.

Penny

Even it´s a nice to see others trying to improve the lives of diabetics this like any other contact lenses have side effects..
When using too often and long periods of time contact lenses, make cornea vascularizations and dimming. Also there is some serious bacterias growing too.

I wouldn´t let my kid use contact lenses to measure his bloodglucose instead i hope the non invasive blood glucose testing methods would be improved enough to do the job, these uses the light which measures blood saturation.. no harm and no nasty little companionships with bacterias.

reply to post by dollukka


Yeah contacts can have nasty side effects, people that use them dont use it all day but i dont think they are that bad there are many people using them.

Even if it doesn't work for glucose monitoring the technology is a pretty engineering feat.

Having the contact lens linked to a med pump would be good.

It would in the case of insulin be almost as good as the body its self.

It always starts as a 'great idea' designed to help. Next thing you know, they're using it against us.

WonderBoi
It always starts as a 'great idea' designed to help. Next thing you know, they're using it against us.

Yeah damn anti-biotics! Started off as such a great idea now it's a weapon against us! RAGE against the man!!!

Oh wait .. nevermind, I got caught up in your baseless fearmongering. Anyone saying this is stupid because testing is so easy and painless is obviously not a diabetic, and obviously foolish.