Functional Contact Lenses for Remote Health Monitoring in Developing Countries

The opportunities afforded by using a functional contact lens for remote wireless health status monitoring are discussed and the progress to date in the development of this technology platform is presented. A functional contact lens complete with sensors and embedded circuitry can be used to monitor the composition of tear fluid and, by extension, a number of health-status related parameters in the body in a noninvasive and continuous fashion. The data collected by the disposable contact lens may be sent wirelessly to a mobile phone that, in turn, can relay the information to a medical practitioner via the cellular phone network. If successfully developed and deployed, such a system can be used for monitoring a variety of health indicators over a large geographic area and population distribution with minimal need for the physical presence of health care providers.