Alcon to license Google ‘smart lens' technology
Alcon, the eye care division of Switzerland-based healthcare company Novartis, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Google to license its “smart lens” technology for all ocular medical uses.
The agreement brings together Google's expertise in miniaturized electronics, low power chip design and microfabrication with Alcon's expertise in physiology and visual performance of the eye, clinical development and evaluation, as well as commercialization, according to a press release.
The smart lens technology involves non-invasive sensors, microchips and other miniaturized electronics which are embedded within contact lenses. Alcon is looking into using the technology for:
- Helping diabetic patients manage their disease by providing a continuous, minimally invasive measurement of the body's glucose levels. The lens is designed to measure tear fluid in the eye and connects wirelessly with a mobile device;
- To provide accommodative vision correction to help restore the eye's natural autofocus on near objects in the form of an accommodative contact lens or intraocular lens as part of the refractive cataract treatment.
“This is a key step for us to go beyond the confines of traditional disease management, starting with the eye,” said Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez in a statement.