Technology — January 19, 2010 10:20 — 2 Comments
Glucose-Checking Contacts
Diabetics: Don't Prick Your Finger, Lower Your Eyelid!
I’ve talked about glasses that translate languages, glasses that send (potential) spy messages, even glasses that turn you into (looking like—haha, punny) a superhero. As awesome as I think prescription eyeglasses are, it’s time to set them aside… and examine a new contact breed.
Science just amazes me. Simple as that. I admit, I am not a scientist, so I am easily impressed. But this eye advancement is definitely worth attention.
A Scientific American article from wayyyy back in 2003 stated the possibility of having contact lenses that monitor blood sugar for diabetics… a technology that has actually been developed and released as of December 2009. As the wife of a Type 1 diabetic, I can tell you that this is an exciting possibility… having to bring the blood checker everywhere and check it all day long is a task for my husband. He is so used to it that he hardly thinks about it anymore, but how much easier would it be if your “blood checker” was already on you… in your contacts?!?
They work pretty simply: the diabetic wears the contacts (of course). The contacts detect the glucose levels in the person’s tears (which apparently have twenty times more potent glucose levels than blood). When the glucose levels change, a small, hidden section of the contact changes color. According to the 2003 article, the colors were to be green for normal glucose levels, red for low glucose levels, and violet for high glucose levels.
For the nitty-gritty science of how it all works, check out The University of Western Ontario’s report.
So what do you all think? Am I the only one totally excited about this?!?
And here’s an interesting question: what glasses advancements (medical, spy, costume, whatever) do YOU look forward to? Get creative!
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Cool.
This is very very cool and I am all for the technology! There is one tiny flaw in the thinking though- when someone with diabetes needs to know that their sugars are too high or low, they are often incapable of being proactive. They will even tell you that they are not hungry when their sugars are low! This means that they are very unlikely to think to go check their eye in a mirror. If this was a watch it would be better as the person with diabetes can see it.