Google’s Glucose Monitor in a Contact Lens!

This week Google started working on a smart contact lens that monitors glucose levels within the wearer’s human tears, or more precisely, the moisture on your eye. The idea being that wearers of contact lenses which also happen to be diabetics, can monitor their blood sugar at all times. An interesting idea, but is it practical?

One thing that Google promised in their announcement on Thursday was that the data received concerning blood glucose levels would never be stored on Google servers. I find that really interesting that they understood that the public is concerned about their health information being made available on Google servers! At least Google’s thinking about the issue and is responding to that problem right up front.

Keep in mind that this device is a prototype, it contains a sensor that measures glucose levels in the tears and moisture through a tiny pinhole in the lens that lets tear fluid be analyzed by the device. Google says that the device can take glucose level readings once every second!

Now, I’m not sure that anyone needs to know their blood sugar level once every second. It seems to me that that would give you an opportunity to obsess about it! But the technology involved is pretty cool.

Google is a technology company, and prides itself on innovation. I suspect they’re working with this device as much to prove that they can do it, as to provide a useful service. Although I do believe that health monitoring is one of the next great frontiers for computer technology. In fact, there were a lot of health and fitness devices demonstrated at this year’s CES. So I think we have a lot to look forward to in that space. Maybe it won’t be long until we have really accurate, and useful, “Star Trek style” tricorders available!