Contact Lens with Noninvasive Glucose Sensor

Scientists have created a thin plastic sensor that changes color based on the concentrations of glucose in the body and can be incorporated into a contact lens. The development was reported in the April 11, 2003, online issue of Analytical Chemistry.

When embedded into contact lenses, the sensor will allow diabetic patients to determine their glucose levels by looking into a special mirror to compare the color of the sensing material with a chart on the mirror indicating glucose concentrations. The sensor will change from red, indicating dangerously low concentrations of glucose, to violet, indicating dangerously high levels. When the glucose level is normal, the sensor will be green. The researchers are still determining the number of detectable gradations but expect it to be as high as those provided by finger-stick meters.

"There has been increasing demand for continuous, noninvasive glucose monitoring due to the increasing number of people diagnosed with diabetes and the recognition that the long-term outcome of these patients can be dramatically improved by careful glucose monitoring and control,” said Sanford A. Asher, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA).

The new sensor was created by Dr. Asher and David Finegold, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the university's School of Medicine. The patented technology is owned by the University of Pittsburgh, which has licensed it to a new startup company that will commercialize the technology. The researchers expect that the technology will be able to be incorporated into currently available commercial contact lenses, which would be replaced weekly.




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