Google Inventing Blood Sugar Testing Contact Lenses
After Google Glasses were revealed there was a lot of speculation as to just what the technology giant was going to do next. The answer, many were shocked to find, is that the Internet and technology giant is creating contact lenses. They won't be used to browse the Internet though; the lenses, if all goes according to plan, will be used to revolutionize the way diabetics live their lives.
Sugar-Sensing Contact Lenses
People who live with diabetes have difficulty maintaining a healthy blood sugar level. This leads to all kinds of medications, lifestyle changes, and other preventative measures being taken to help control the condition. One of the most common sights though is a diabetic person jabbing his or her fingertips, swabbing a bit of blood onto a test strip, and then inserting the strip into an electronic reader to check the glucose levels in the blood.
Google might be eliminating the need for that kind of testing
The contact lenses currently being tested have tiny, miniature LED lights that look like specks of glitter when worn. Sandwiched between layers of the lens, the technology measures glucose levels in the wearer's tears. When the levels get too high, or too low, the LED lights flash to warn the wearer of the condition. There's no pricking necessary, no need to carry test strips, and less of a package to carry around when leaving the house.
Future Implications
While this might seem like a breakthrough in how to deal with diabetes, the real breakthrough is in the miniaturization of the components involved. With glitter-sized lights and sensors, as well as an antenna that's smaller than a human hair, these contact lenses represent at least as big a change as the Google Glasses in terms of useful, wearable technology. It could be the first step toward the science fiction utopias, or the cyberpunk dystopias, that have graced the pages of pulp magazines for decades now.
The question people might ask, and legitimately so, is at this point is what's next? If contact lenses can be fitted with circuitry and worn with little to no effort, then what else is possible? Will futuristic technology be installed directly into affected tissue to cure diseases from the common cold to cancer? Will the cell phones and iPods of the future be able to catch ambient brain waves to charge themselves? Or, for that matter, will people be able to download information straight into their brains?
We're not there yet, but the keyword in that sentence is yet. Things once thought completely impossible, such as cybernetic prosthetics capable of delivering sensation to the brain, have become common. Still cutting edge, but fairly common all the same. When it comes to Google's revolutionary contact lenses, the question is really what other conditions can be monitored and treated using this tiny technology? The miniaturization of medical monitors might result in a complete change in how conditions are diagnosed and treated. They could also lead to test results being completed in minutes, rather than in hours or days as has been the case previously. Only time will tell for certain.
Author Bio:
This article was provided by Jesse L. from the FindAFax.com blog team. Jesse earned a perfect 800 on the Math S.A.T. and is currently studying Computer Science at Stanford University.
