Lenses protecting against blindness among diabetics developed by Korean researchers

South Korean researchers have developed smart contact lenses that can protect against vision loss caused by diabetes.

Photo credit: Harpreet Singh / Unsplash

A research team from the Pohang University of Science and Technology research team led by Sei Kwang Hahn has created wearables that prevent diabetic retinopathy, treating it in its early stages by irradiating the retina with LED light. 

Diabetic retinopathy is a health complication that causes damage to the blood vessels of the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye, resulting in a decline in vision or even blindness. The longer a patient suffers from diabetes, the higher the risk of developing retinopathy.

These smart contact lenses offer an alternative to the current treatment methods: using highly invasive repeated therapeutic injections to the eyeball or thousands of small burns made with a laser to destroy capillaries near the edges of the retina. Though done under anesthesia, both procedures are considered highly painful for the patient.

The study, published in international academic journal Advanced Science, saw the wearables be tested on animals with diabetes. It confirmed that diabetic retinopathy did not appear in animals that wore the smart contact lenses for 15 minutes three times a week for a total of eight weeks. Meanwhile, animals that did not wear the lenses showed retinopathic conditions. 

The safety and effectiveness of the lenses were also confirmed through a histological analysis of the cornea and retina.

“This study has demonstrated the feasibility of a lens-type wearable device for the applications not only to monitoring oxygen saturation, heart beating rate, and ophthalmologic diseases, but also to treating depression, insomnia, neuronal diseases, and more,” said Sei.

The team also included Geon-Hui Lee and was done in collaboration with Sangbaie Shin of Phi Biomed, a biopharmaceutical company co-founded by Sei.

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