THE INVENTORS of contact lenses would hardly believe the progress that has been made in the last 50 years or so. With advanced materials—orthokeratology to slow myopia, the reemergence of scleral lenses, and more—our profession continues to push the envelope with new technologies while balancing the health of the eye.
As we look toward the next 50 years, it is exciting to imagine the possibilities ahead. With increased knowledge of the ocular surface, health monitoring, drug delivery, artificial intelligence, and other technological advancements, it seems possible we are leaving the golden age of contact lens innovation and emerging in the platinum period.
In the present, individuals are increasingly monitoring their quantified selves with wearable devices. From watches to rings, biometric monitors seem to have become mainstream. While easy to access and wear, they lack some of the abilities that more invasive technologies could give. Alternatively, diabetic patients often wear invasive monitors that measure interstitial glucose in real time, and other invasive monitors are available electively for the health-conscious to monitor various factors. Impressive, but invasive.
While contact lenses might be considered invasive, millions of patients wear them for vision correction—and they provide an incredible environment for monitoring those patients.
Could it be in the future that our diabetic patients are monitored through an embedded glucose monitor within a contact lens? That monitor could send a signal to a device to give real-time data of a patient’s levels, which would then send a signal to a device to deliver just the right amount of medication to manage the patient. While this evolution is available in other forms, could it be a mainstay of our future practices to be prescribing and working in concert with the patient’s diabetic physician?
Could it be that medical management of glaucoma patients will include contact lenses that measure intraocular pressure (IOP) and track diurnal IOP shifts? Add to that, could it be that the same contact lens could provide a dose of medication released over the day to improve delivery and compliance?
Could it be that athletes monitor their lactic acid buildup and other metrics through a contact lens so that they can adapt their training in real time? This could also be highly valuable for patients who are at risk for ischemia.
Could it be that contact lenses have electrical energy powered by the use of our body heat or through the action of blinking?
Could it be in the future that our contact lenses will detect elevated levels of inflammation in our tears and activate a heat patch to increase oil flow from our meibomian glands in response?
While none of these things are available to us yet, they are all being researched and investigated (Wu et al, 2024). There will certainly be challenges with regulation and safety that will protect our patients but slow the progress. I imagine that 10 years from now, we will look back at our progress and be astonished at the innovations that have come about.
References
1. Wu KY, Dave A, Carbonneau M, Tran SD. Smart contact lenses in ophthalmology: innovations, applications, and future prospects. Micromachines. 2024;15:856. doi:10.3390/mi15070856
