Tissot Medical Research and the University of Lausanne (EPFL) continue to improve their contact lens for the detection of glaucoma.
The Swiss researchers' project is to develop a lens that is capable of measuring intraocular pressure continuously for 24 hours. This would correct the errors that arise from the current method, which can only measure pressure at a precise moment.
The lenses are composed of silicone and equipped with sensors that measure the variations in pressure with each blink of the eyes, using a bump that presses against the cornea when the eyelid closes. This causes the electrodes to come closer together. Small antennas attached to the patient's glasses capture the information.
By measuring the eye's resistance to the pressure from blinking, it is possible to collect valuable information about the patient's intraocular pressure. After 24 hours, ophthalmologists plug a USB key into the housing and analyze the results, says the director of the Electronics and Signal Processing Laboratory at EPFL.
The smart lens could also help in adjusting the patient's treatment by measuring the biomechanical properties of the cornea.
Although it is not yet on the market, this lens already has competition. Sensimed, a start-up also based at EPFL, has developed a different version based on a technology that analyzes the changes in the circumference of the cornea.
Sources:
http://actu.epfl.ch/news/une-lentille-de-contact-pour-depister-le-glaucome/
