by Joel Harrison
1. September 2010 08:24
Nanotechnology, a science that deals with making extremely small devices and materials, is on the verge of revolutionising contact lenses. Researchers at the University of Washington have just presented the latest results of their work, which involves integrating microscopic devices into contact lenses.
These lenses are to monitor their wearers’ health, taking advantage of the biochemical characteristics of the surface of the eye. The information that the lenses gather will be displayed on the lenses themselves or transmitted to other devices, such as mobile phones or computers.
Currently, the contact lenses can only display single dots (red or green ones), but the researchers are making quick progress and the lenses may soon be able to present complex information.
The range of the possible applications of the lenses is very wide and includes monitoring blood sugar and cholesterol levels, body temperature, detecting inflammation, infection or fatigue. Software and hardware manufacturers are also interested in the technology, which may potentially be used in computer games.
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