There are those who use them because they are better off than with glasses, those to correct otherwise untreatable visual anomalies, those for aesthetic purposes to change the color of the iris: today’s contact lenses are medical devices, accessories and more. . But those of the future could do even more. For example, they could be used for diagnostic purposes, to detect diseases such as tumors or diabetes, or for therapeutic purposes for the administration of drugs, as an alternative to traditional eye drops. Presenting the potential of new contact lens technologies is research conducted by the Lyndon Jones group of the University of Waterloo, Canada. Published in a special edition in ContactLens & Anterior Eye (journal of the British Contact Lens Association), the research is part of a group of 10 studies from Contact Lens Evidence-based Academic Reports (CLEAR).
“Diagnostic” contact lenses: from glaucoma to diabetes
The work of Jones’ team provides the broadest analysis ever conducted on advances in contact lens studies and applications today and in the future. For example, if today there are (and are already on the market) models of contact lenses that monitor the evolution of myopia. Also approved is the use of contact lenses that measure changes in intraocular pressure from the shape of the cornea and which serve to monitor glaucoma, the leading cause of blindness in the world. But apparently unrelated eye diseases could also be discovered with contact lenses. Since tear films can contain biological signals of various pathologies, the project of many research groups is to create very thin biosensors inside the lenses that allow to detect anomalies in an easy and less invasive way. From tears, for example, it could be traced to the presence of higher than average glucose levels, which may indicate a metabolic problem, such as diabetes. In theory, tumor biomarkers could also be detected in an even simpler way than through blood tests. Hypertension and stroke risk could also be monitored. Using the conditional, however, is a must since the technologies considered, although promising, are still being evaluated.
Diagnosis and therapy together: theranostics
Another frontier is that of contact lenses for the treatment of some eye diseases. In this case we speak of theranostics, a multisectoral discipline in which a diagnostic intervention is combined with a therapeutic one. The application could concern dry eye syndrome, glaucoma, infections, allergies. This way of administering the treatment could be more precise than traditional eye drops: contact lenses could release the dressing over time, among other things reducing the possible side effects of drugs. To obtain this result, microelectronics could be used, that is, tiny electronic components inside the lens, which continuously monitor the elements and characteristics of the person’s eye in real time.
Improve eyesight ad personam
Sight will obviously also benefit from it. The lenses of the future could be made to measure. These products could correct vision defects and imperfections based on the shape of the patient’s cornea, going beyond the standardized product, the same for all patients.
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