Through the study with diabetic animal models, the scientists verified that the diabetic retinopathy did not appear in animals that wore the wise contact lenses for 15 minutes 3 times a week for a total of 8 weeks. In contrast, the animals that did not wear the lenses revealed retinopathic conditions. The safety and efficiency of the lenses were likewise confirmed by the histological analysis of the cornea and retina.
” This study has demonstrated the expediency of a lens-type wearable device for the applications not only to keeping an eye on oxygen saturation, heart pounding rate, and ophthalmologic illness, but likewise to treating depression, sleeping disorders, neuronal diseases, and more,” said Professor Sei Kwang Han who led the study.
Referral: “Smart Wireless Near-Infrared Light Emitting Contact Lens for the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy” by Geon-Hui Lee, Cheonhoo Jeon, Jee Won Mok, Sangbaie Shin, Su-Kyoung Kim, Hye Hyeon Han, Seong-Jong Kim, Sang Hoon Hong, Hwanhee Kim, Choun-Ki Joo, Jae-Yoon Sim and Sei Kwang Hahn, 29 January 2022, Advanced Science.DOI: 10.1002/ advs.202103254.
Released in the worldwide academic journal Advanced Science, this study was carried out with support from the Nano · Material Technology Development Program, Disease Oriented Translational Research, Mid-career Researcher Program, Brain Korea 21 Fostering Outstanding Universities (FOUR) project, and the Korea Medical Device Development Fund of the National Research Foundation of Korea, and by the World Class 300 Project of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups of Korea.
Schematic diagram of the avoidance and early treatment system for diabetic retinopathy utilizing wirelessly driven smart contact lenses equipped with LEDs. Credit: POSTECH
Smart LED contact lenses developed for dealing with diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetes is a long-lasting persistent illness with many issues and requires long-lasting care. The longer a client suffers from diabetes, the higher the danger of establishing retinopathy (disease of the retina) which can gradually result in a decrease in vision and even to blindness.
A POSTECH research team led by Professor Sei Kwang Hahn and Ph.D. candidate Geon-Hui Lee (Department of Materials Science and Engineering) in collaboration with Dr. Sangbaie Shin of PHI BIOMED Co. has recently developed a smart contact lens-type wearable device to prevent diabetic retinopathy and treat it in its early phases by irradiating 120 µW far red/LED light to the retina. This technology for wise LED contact lenses has actually attracted a good deal of attention for various ophthalmologic illness.
Diabetic retinopathy is currently dealt with by highly invasive duplicated therapeutic injections to the eyeball or countless small burns made with a laser to ruin blood vessels near the edges of the retina under anesthesia. Both treatments are considered extremely uncomfortable for the patient.
