Cybernetic contact lens not yet ready for testing

Autofocusing contact lenses won’t be cleared for trials any time soon, but this is understandable given the complexity of the technology needed to be developed to make it happen. Image INQUIRER.net Stock Photo

For those who are hoping to get some good news on Google’s (Alphabet) smart contact lenses, you’ll have to wait a little longer as a recent report states that the technology is not even ready for testing yet.

A spokesperson from Novartis, the company partnering with Alphabet’s Verify Life Sciences, stated that it was “too early to say” when trials would start, reports Engadget.

Novartis explained that the setback was due to a “very technically complex process” and that the two companies were “learning as [they] go along.” Novartis and its partner is currently developing contact lenses that can monitor blood sugar levels and ones that autofocus to address farsightedness. Given how little space contact lenses can afford for advanced technology to be embedded in it, the setbacks are not surprising.

The two lenses are considered to be long-term bets and there is no guarantee that they will be ready any time soon. But once they are ready after a few more years, the potential benefits for healthcare will have been worth the wait.  Alfred Bayle