The beginning of smart contact lenses

As we enter the threshold of a new technological age, it is now a reality to create contact lenses for use as the screen of a modern computer. Let us look at the technology of eye lenses, which replaced classic glasses to improve vision in case of myopia or presbyopia.

In addition to the classic vision problems, we also had the development of the general application of lenses in medicine. We have a health monitor that will solve many of the vision problems.

Hyperopia

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have used the unique shape of the retina found in fish to design a contact lens that automatically focuses on milliseconds, instantly correcting hyperopia.

Diabetes

These new lenses could one day eliminate the traditional sugar test. In this, the user, with a slight finger sting, pulls a drop of blood to check the blood sugar levels.

Glaucoma

Replacing eye drops, used to prevent vision deterioration in glaucoma patients, with contact lenses with integrated vitamin E could, according to the researchers, lead to a significant improvement in treatment.

According to the researchers, contact lenses, which allow the user to see as well as a pair of regular contact lenses, could also be used with medicines for cataracts and other eye diseases. So, it is easy to see how close technology is to create a screen by gathering all the necessary information that is useful in helping health and any activity of modern humans.

Smart Contact Lens as Digital Screen

So, as we saw in science fiction movies a few years ago, a smart contact lens could eventually replace smartphones, smartwatches, augmented reality glasses, and even virtual reality headphones. Today many companies are in the process of this endeavour.

Mojo Vision

Mojo is preparing to launch complete tests of “smart” contact lenses on people, who will display an informative “screen” in front of the user’s eyes. These lenses will be more prominent – they will extend to the white of the eye and correct the user’s vision, but they also have a tiny micro-LED “screen”, smart sensors, and batteries. The micro-LED display had to be invented from scratch, as did the control system and the optics that focused the light from the display on the back of the retina.

Technical Information Mojo smart contact lens

Mojo smart contact lens has:

A Micro LED screen of 14,000 pixels per inch, the smallest in the world with a diameter of just 0.5 millimetres and the densest with a pixel of just 1.8 microns. Ultra-low latency 5 GH radio for AR content streaming. ARM processor. Continuous eye monitoring. Magnetometers. Medical quality lens batteries Eye-controlled user interface.

The contact lens is connected to an external control that looks like and can be used as a necklace, where all the calculations are done. It uses a private 5 GHz radio signal because Bluetooth technology is slow and has exceptionally high latency.

As for the optical part, it includes a tiny, inverted Cassegrain telescope built into the lens. The result is eye tracking that is ten times better than anything available today while supporting the ability to create a controlled user interface.

Some concerns arise about standard contact lenses. Any contact lens can endanger eye health without proper care.

But according to Sinclair, a smart lens can be programmed to detect if it is being appropriately cleaned or even alert the user when it needs to be replaced.

The implementation

As mentioned above, research is underway to create lenses that can diagnose and treat medical conditions, from ophthalmology to diabetes or even cancer, by monitoring specific biomarkers, such as light levels, cancer-related molecules, or glucose levels in tears.

For example, a team at the University of Surrey has developed a small contact lens that contains a photodetector to capture visual information, a temperature sensor to diagnose possible corneal disease, and a glucose sensor to monitor tear levels.