Developed by researchers from Khalifa University to help diabetic patients

Invention of contact lenses to measure blood glucose and correct myopia

Haider Butt: "The lenses rely on sensors to take a sample and measure the various vital signs of tears."

A research team consisting of researchers from Khalifa University and Imperial College London has developed a new contact lens that contributes to the treatment of diabetes patients, by monitoring blood glucose levels without the need for daily blood tests, and the innovative lenses are bifocal to measure blood glucose And correct the problem of myopia.

In detail, the research team of Khalifa University included Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Haider Bat, PhD researcher Dr. Muhammad Al-Sharif, PhD researcher Dr. Fahd Alam, visiting researcher Dr. Badr Al-Qattan, and Master of Science graduate, Ahmed Saleh, in addition to Prof. Associate in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, Dr. Ali Itisen, and the team published their research in the prestigious scientific journal Small.

Dr. Haider Butt said: “Our innovation is based on contact lenses with sensors that are able to take a sample and measure various vital signs through tears, especially those that indicate high glucose levels. The contact lenses developed by the team provide a new way to measure glucose levels in people. Diabetic patients, by integrating sensors that contribute to the diffraction of light and composed of a hydrogel matrix used in the manufacture of contact lenses.”

He added: “The smartphone can be used as a portable reader for glucose sensors, and we can install a light source in the frame of the glasses that can be worn when the patient needs to measure glucose concentration, as the light beam directs its path towards the lens to collect the light detector data related to the amount of reflected light, sending this information to the patient’s phone via Bluetooth and comparing the transmitted signals with the glucose concentration in the tears.”

He pointed out that the research team developed contact lenses in another way that contributes to correcting the problem of nearsightedness in addition to monitoring the proportion of glucose, as the researchers' innovation was characterized as bifocal, allowing patients to obtain clear vision from near and far distances, especially since one of the most common complications of diabetes is a problem. Myopia, through which the patient cannot see distant objects clearly.

avoiding challenges

Khalifa University of Science confirmed that continuous monitoring of blood glucose levels in diabetic patients is essential in controlling the disease and avoiding its associated complications.

It is expected that by 2030, diabetes will occupy the seventh place as the most common deadly disease, and the disease is represented by a lack of insulin production or the body's inability to use the available insulin to control glucose levels.

The university indicated that the innovative lenses avoid the challenges facing glucose monitoring systems, as the latter requires re-calibration twice daily as a minimum for signal loss, and commercial monitoring systems detect the concentration of glucose in the intercellular fluid, which requires an electrochemical examination device that is inserted during surgery.

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