Filed under: Wearables

Far from the first circuit-laden contact lens we’ve laid eyes on (ahem), researchers at UC Davis have more than bragging rights in mind with their “smart” contacts. The devices are infused with a “pattern of conductive silver wires, which could be used to measure pressure inside the eye.” The material, dubbed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), would boast antimicrobial properties and could enable scientists to better study glaucoma. How so? By sending pressure data to computers sans wires. Better still, the contacts also include the ability to automatically dispense medication into the eye, making this beneficial in more ways than one. The creators are expected to apply for approval to begin testing the lenses in humans here shortly, and barring any unforeseen (sorry, totally unintentional there) setbacks, we would hope these could be put to use within the next few years.

[Via medGadget]

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Filed under: Wearables

While there’s been no shortage of research surrounding the saving of one’s eyesight, the EU-funded CORNEA project has now developed an artificial cornea that is showing promise in trials. Reportedly, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam and the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Regensburg have created a device that is “based on a commercially available polymer which absorbs no water and allows no cells to grow on it.” Put simply, the cornea implant can “firmly connect with the natural part of the cornea, while the center remains free of cells and therefore clear.” Apparently, early versions have already been successfully placed in the eyes of rabbits, and if ongoing testing goes smoothly, they’ll be headed for humans as early as next year.

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