Google develops contact lenses that monitor blood sugar

Tech giant Google announced that it has successfully developed a contact lens capable of measuring sugar levels from human tears.

If mass produced, the device would be a more convenient health monitoring tool for millions of diabetics.

Illustration photo. (Source: nikozz/Flickr)

With this new technology, nearly 400 million people with diabetes worldwide will be able to measure their blood sugar levels through tears, much simpler than the current blood testing method.

To do this, Google Glass uses a glucose sensor and a wireless transmitter. The prototype announced on January 16 has the same shape and size as a regular contact lens.

However, inside the lens are tens of thousands of tiny semiconductor devices and an antenna as thin as a hair.

Brian Otis, a key member of the research team, said the world’s smallest glucose meter was a feat of sophisticated technology. It took experts and engineers years to attach each hair-thin wire to the tiny electronic device, and they also had to hand-make each microchip.

Google experts developed the product over the course of 18 months in the company's lab. But research on the invention began years earlier at the University of Washington. The entire process was kept secret until the announcement.

However, Google said it will take at least 5 more years for this product to be completed and available to consumers. The group is currently looking for experienced partners to develop and market the product.

On this occasion, the American Diabetes Association welcomed the new invention and the creative work of Google engineers. However, the association emphasized that the new device must ensure accuracy and reliability, because daily testing information can seriously affect the health of patients.

Google’s announcement is the latest step in the booming field of glucose monitoring devices, where companies are racing to develop and introduce medical devices that simplify blood sugar measurements, a market that is expected to surpass $16 billion in sales by the end of this year.

Diabetes is becoming more and more common in many countries. Currently, it is estimated that there are about 382 million patients in the world with the disease that occurs when the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin to control glucose levels or the body cannot effectively consume this insulin. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, stroke and blindness./.

According to VNA