Smart Contact Lenses: A Computer Screen ‘Nearby’? – BBC News in Chinese

The smart contact lens developed by the company is a “scleral lens”, that is, a contact lens lens that is larger than ordinary contact lens lenses and can cover the white part of the eye, which can correct the wearer’s vision, and also comes with a micro LED display. sensor and solid state battery.

Sinclair said they have completed a functional prototype and are about to start internal testing.

“Now we have entered a very interesting test phase, and optimized the function and power, extended the wearing time, and tested it all day long.”

In addition, other groups are also developing smart contact lenses, hoping to have more uses, such as using smart contact lenses to collect health data.

Rebecca Rojas, a vision scientist at Columbia University in the United States, said smart contact lenses could be used to monitor the wearer’s eye pressure, as well as glucose levels, to better manage diabetes.

“Smart contact lenses also offer a long-term delivery option, which is helpful for both diagnosis and treatment planning,” she said. “Technology has advanced so much that it has the potential to improve patients’ lives.”

Researchers are also developing smart contact lenses for a range of medical uses, including diagnosing and treating eye diseases, diabetes, and even diagnosis by tracking specific biomarkers such as light, or tiny molecules associated with cancer, or the amount of glucose in tears. cure cancer.

For example, a research team at the University of Surrey has developed a smart contact lens that accepts optical data to identify images, a temperature sensor to diagnose potential corneal lesions, and a glucose sensor to monitor tears Glucose content in.

Dr Yunlong Zhao, Lecturer in Energy Storage and Bioelectronics at the University of Surrey, said: “We have developed an ultra-thin mesh layer that allows the sensing layer to be placed directly on the contact lens, in direct contact with the eye and tears.”

“Because of the elasticity, the wearer feels more comfortable, and because of the direct contact with the tear fluid, it provides more accurate sensing results.”

While there are many features in development, smart contact lens technology still has some hurdles to overcome.

One of the challenges is that the battery that provides the power must be very tiny. Will there be enough power to perform any useful function?

Mojo Vision’s product is still in beta, but the goal is to allow users to wear it all day without recharging.

The company says that smart contact lenses don’t need to consume power all the time, only at a few points of the day when information is collected, so actual battery life depends on usage, just like your smartphone and smartwatch. .

Google’s 2014 smart glasses weren’t as impactful as expected, and smart contact lenses now in development face similar problems.

Daniel Leufer, a policy analyst at digital rights advocacy group Access Now, said: “Any hidden device that allows the user to take pictures or take pictures poses a privacy risk to others.”

“Smart glasses can light up a red warning light and tell people around them that they’re taking pictures in a way, but it’s more difficult for contact lenses to have that warning feature.”

In addition to privacy concerns about the people around them, the data security of smart contact lens wearers is also a question.

“What if smart contact lenses recorded what we were looking at, shared our data, knew that our hearts were racing when we were looking at someone, or we were sweating when we asked a question,” Raffi said.

“This private information reveals a lot about each of us, including sexual orientation and whether we’re telling the truth or lying.”

Mojo Vision says they take customer privacy seriously and all data is secured.

In addition, smart contact lenses, like regular contact lenses, have health risks.

“Any contact lens has risks for eye health,” Rojas said. “It’s the same with other medical devices. We have to make sure that the health of the patient comes first, and no matter what device the risk cannot exceed the advantages it brings.”

However, she is worried that some people do not pay attention to the instructions for using contact lenses, do not follow the hygiene of contact lenses, and use improper methods such as exceeding the wearing time. Improper use of contact lenses will cause eye discomfort, inflammation, infection, and endanger vision and eye health.

The smart contact lenses developed by Mojo Vision have a lifespan of up to a year, and Sinclair said that if they are not properly cleaned, they can be a real problem.

But he pointed out that smart contact lenses can detect whether the user is properly cleaned and alert the user when it needs to be replaced.

The company plans to work with optometrists to ensure smart contact lenses meet the wearer’s vision needs and are safe and hygienic.

Sinclair said that any new consumer product will take time to be accepted by consumers, and the same is true of smart contact lenses, and he believes that eventually all forms of glasses will have smart capabilities.