Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has come up with a contact lens that can track the glucose level in tears, which could be useful for millions of diabetes patients who would otherwise need to give out their blood sample as many as 10 times a day, shares the web giant with The Associated Press.
Lens would be available in five years
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) said that the mass supply of the lens would take at least five years, and is one among a range of devices manufactured by different companies to make glucose monitoring easier and less painful than the traditional finger pricks.
A tiny glucose sensor and a wireless transmitter are attached to the lens to track the level of glucose. The lens had been designed and developed for the past 18 months in the Google X lab, the place where the products like the driverless car, Google’s web surfing eyeglasses, Project Loon and a network of large balloons to take the internet to remote areas, emerged.
Google worked hard to get it right
“You can take it to a certain level in an academic setting, but at Google we were given the latitude to invest in this project,” said one of the lead researchers, Brian Otis. The researcher added that the scope of technology in the semiconductor industry has widened, which until now was used for making cell phones more powerful.
The lens, which Otis showed, is similar to a contact lens, and there are two sparkling glitter specks embed with tens of thousands of miniaturized transistors. There is also a very thin antenna in the lens.
Otis, while showcasing the lens, said that the designing of the lens was very difficult, and involved a lot of work. The researcher added that embedding hair thin wires into the small devices took several years primarily building small chips to create the smallest wireless glucose sensor ever made.
What experts have to say?
Dwight Holing, chairman of Board of American Diabetes said it is appreciative that scientists are working to find out solutions for people with diabetes, but it is essential that the device should deliver accurate information as people who suffer from diabetes make very important health decisions based on the data receive from the monitor.
Dr. Larry Levin of Palo Alto Medical Foundation said that it is significant and vital for a tech firm to the stature of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) to develop something related to the medical field, and he would like to offer his patients a pain free alternative in the form of lens rather than finger prick or a thick needle in their stomach.
