Lenses for diabetics

Among various wearable devices, smart contact lenses are particularly promising for use in healthcare, since they can be used as an interface between the human body and an electronic device. So, relatively recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) The United States has approved night contact lenses capable of measuring intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma.

In a new study on rabbits, intelligent contact lenses developed at the Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea successfully detected glucose levels and delivered medications to control diabetes and treat diabetic eye lesions.

The intelligent contact lens contains ultra-thin, flexible electrical circuits and a microcontroller. Currently, its thickness is about 0.2 millimeters, but the researchers plan to reduce it to 0.15 mm. Current lenses are thinner than FDA-approved lenses that measure eye pressure, but significantly thicker than standard contact lenses.

The chemicals on the contact lens bind to glucose and cause an electric charge change proportional to the amount of glucose. The electric charge also dissolves the golden membranes of the drug tanks, causing the release of a dose of the drug.

To test the possibility of drug delivery through contact lenses, the researchers used the drug genistein, used to treat diabetic retinopathy.

One of the main problems when monitoring glucose levels in a new way is that the use of contact lenses can cause micro-damage to the eye tissues, which become infected and are much more difficult to treat in people with diabetes.

The authors write that for the further development of the project, it is necessary to study how much the glucose level in the lacrimal fluid corresponds to the glucose level in the blood. In addition, when moving to clinical trials, it may be difficult to combine both lens functions (glucose determination and drug delivery).

The group plans to start clinical trials in 2021. If the results are as high, they hope to create a commercial product by 2023.

Article by D.H.Keum el al. Wireless smart contact lens for diabetic diagnosis and therapy is published in the journal Science Advances. 

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru .