Google Announces Glucose-Sensing Contact Lenses

Google will be entering into the medical device foray with a stunner. It announced its plans for a new contact lens on its blog yesterday. However, this won’t be a more compact Google Glass – the advanced wearable is a medical device aimed at the management of diabetes.

Google is preparing the contact lens to measure glucose levels from the wearer’s tears and to beam the data wirelessly to a receiver (presumably a smart phone). Non-invasive continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are seen as a holy grail for the management of diabetes, and Google claims its prototypes are capable of continuous readings at a rate of once per second, with less hassle and pain than current CGMs which are bulky and require needle sticks about once a week. Furthermore, Google plans on integrating tiny LEDs as instantaneous early warning systems for the user if the glucose level is out of range.