Will there be smart contact lenses soon?
The development of new technologies is happening very quickly. Half a century ago, no one could have imagined that we would all carry a mobile phone in our pockets and people from the generation before that still watched their favorite television programs in black and white for lack of other options. With the arrival of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, a new era has begun and we will notice the effects in all segments of society in the coming years. This also applies to contact lenses, which suddenly appear to offer many more options than helping their owners achieve clear vision.
Custom lenses
Every person is unique, so of course the eyes also differ slightly in size. This would mean that you would actually have to have custom lenses, tailored to your specific situation. Lenses with a fit that is completely designed for your eye. Currently you can onlyOrder universal lenses in a specific strength, but it won’t be long before lens fitting becomes truly custom-made. The curvature of the cornea, among other things, will then become a determining factor in whether the contact lenses fit better. This is expected to further increase wearing comfort.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is the technology that combines live images and virtual images. You already know this from the photo filters in certain apps. You see yourself, with a supplement generated by the computer. This technology is also widely used in computer games and research is currently underway to determine to what extent it can be applied to contact reading. Imagine, for example, that you could project a translation into the lenses or that you no longer have to look at your route planner while driving, because the information simply appears through your lenses.
Medical revolution
The medical world also expects a lot from smart contact lenses. For example, you can think of lenses that contain sensors to constantly monitor the function of the eye. This would make it possible to detect abnormalities in the eye much more quickly. Intervention by a specialist can then take place more timely, so that serious eye damage can be prevented more often. And what about a measuring system for glucose levels via contact lenses? These are all exciting developments that show us that we still have a lot of spectacular things to do.
Source: Hans Anders | Image: Adobe Stock
