NEW YORK, (cnnmoney) — Google is developing smart contact lenses that measure the glucose levels in diabetics’ tears. If successful, google’s newest venture could help to eliminate one of the most painful and intrusive daily routines of diabetics. People with diabetes have difficulty controlling the level of sugar in their blood stream, so they need to monitor their glucose levels — typically by stabbing themselves with small pin pricks, swabbing their blood onto test strips and feeding them into an electronic reader. Google’s smart contacts could potentially make blood sugar monitoring far less invasive.
The prototype contacts are outfitted with tiny wireless chips and glucose sensors, sandwiched between two lenses. they are able to measure blood sugar levels once per second, and google is working on putting led lights inside the lenses that would flash when those levels are too low or high. The electronics in the lens is so small that they appear to be specks of glitter, google said. The wireless antenna is thinner than a human hair.
