Google, Novartis to Develop Smart Contacts

The technologically advanced eyewear monitors blood sugar concentrations in diabetic patients.

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GOOGLEInternet giant Google and pharmaceutical company Novartis are joining forces to develop a high-tech contact lens that will be able to monitor blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, Novartis announced in a statement released Tuesday (July 15).

Google announced the creation of a prototype of the smart lens in January. “We’re now testing a smart contact lens that’s built to measure glucose levels in tears using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material,” the company said in a January 16 post on its official blog. “We’re testing prototypes that can generate a reading once per second.”

Six months later, Alcon, Novartis’s eye care unit, has licensed the technology from GoogleX, the research division within the Internet company that tackles global technological problems, with the goal of pushing the smart lens onto the market. “We are looking forward to working with Google to bring together their advanced technology and our extensive ...

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  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
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