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Future holds myriad uses for contact lenses
CHICAGO — In the near future, contact lenses will be used to measure glucose in diabetic patients and IOP in glaucoma patients and to deliver drugs to the eye, according to one speaker here.
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"Contact lenses may soon be able to monitor ocular and systemic conditions for you," John Massare, PhD, said during the Contact Lenses in the Refractive Surgery Practice symposium at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery annual meeting.
Human tears contain glucose, and contact lenses could be fitted with a photonic crystal glucose-sensing component, he said.
"The recording of results is fairly straightforward using this type of system," Dr. Massare said. Results could be read either on the contact lens itself through a color coding system or through a handheld device.
"I think that's something that probably a lot of people in this room may actually be looking at, frankly, in the not too distant future," he said.
Contact lenses could also provide a more consistent way of keeping tabs on patients' IOPs. "The current limitation with glaucoma is that checks are limited to doctors' office hours," Dr. Massare said.
Because IOP is known to be correlated with corneal curvature, a gauge in hydrogel lenses designed to detect curvature changes could indicate changes in IOP. In a study involving enucleated porcine eyes, Dr. Massare said IOP measurements taken from a contact lens gauge had "very good correlation" with traditionally taken IOP measurements.
"You would be able to essentially get ongoing [IOP] measurements over the complete 24-hour cycle," he said.
In terms of drug delivery, Dr. Massare said contact lenses would require a redesigned material capable of sustained drug release.
He noted that the K-Lens (Vistakon), which delivers ketotifen to eyes with ocular allergies, is currently in a phase 3 trial.