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What’s that twinkle in your eye? A contact lens for people with diabetes contains a tiny light that lets them know if their sugar levels get too high.
Diabetes affects the body’s ability to regulate a type of sugar called glucose. If blood sugar levels aren’t properly monitored, they can creep up and damage organs.
People with diabetes can monitor their sugar levels by pricking their finger and testing their blood with a glucose meter, but many find this painful and inconvenient.
Now, Jang-Ung Park at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea and his colleagues have developed a contact lens that continuously monitors sugar in tears. Previous studies have shown that the sugar content of tears corresponds closely with blood sugar.
The clear, flexible lens contains a glucose sensor that sends electrical signals to an LED.