Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

googleblog.blogspot.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 184 posts

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#41

Post by morganherlocker »

erkkie wrote: post #38
morganherlocker wrote: post #25

Type I diabetic here. Assuming current tech stays where it is (not saying it will), this could easily tack 10 years on to my lifespan. For many who watch their diabetes less closely (something I cannot fault anyone for), this could add 20-30 years. For anyone who does not know, type I diabetes is not something you can just follow a doctor's direction on and be ok. Even if you follow your doctor perfectly, there can s…

I'm expecting sensor tech to explode in the coming years, including noninvasive cgm. Imagine high level endurance athletes on a full biometrics panel during a race, including glycose and blood pressure (among other things).

If pro athletes are where the demand lies, I am fine with that. Unfortunately, most education around diabetes has conflated type I with type II, which has caused and overemphasis on high blood sugar control, rather than low blood sugar management. Pro athletes might have the same problem as type I diabetics, which could lead to a converging need.

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#42

Post by psbp »

klapinat0r wrote: post #22
awolf wrote: post #4

As a type 1 diabetic I can say this would be a huge improvement over current continuous glucose monitoring systems. No expensive disposable parts. No needing to inject a new sensor each week. No strange, uncomfortable, and (often) painful bulge stuck to your abdomen. >We’re in discussions with the FDA, but there’s still a lot more work to do to turn this technology into a system that people can use I'm chomping at th…

As a fellow type 1 diabetic, I'm thrilled with any new projects - especially a project like this which would benefit not only type 1, and is not only targeted for type 2. > how soon this could possibly be available? I've been following various type 1 research for as long as I can remember (runs in the family, myself etc.), and I remember a similar enthusiasm back when glucose watches were first in production. I recal…

Check out the solve for X video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6g581tJ7bM#t=3m

Babak explains why the surface of the eye is such a good area to measure various health indicators.

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#43

Post by morganherlocker »

joeconway wrote: post #36
morganherlocker wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost all meters allow you to extract data over USB, but the data usually comes out in an obfuscated proprietary format. Do you know which format this exports to? Scott Hanselman had a blog post about this a few years ago (can't seem to find the link). IMO, every meter should be required to export to CSV at a bare minimum. I will look into the one you linked, but for most users, they really need something that can b…

I really feel your pain. The reason why I love this meter so much is that it doesn't require a £50 USB cable (The usb is built into the meter) the proprietry software is a standalone jar on the USB device which is amazingly quite good. But best of all when you plug the USB device in it mounts as removable storage with a db.sqlite file which is easily accessible and a simple .dump reveals the sensible DB schema. It's…

Thanks for the tip. I will buy this and try it out, open sourcing any scripts I can write that will assist in the extraction. Do you know of any existing tools?

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#44

Post by magicalist »

caseydurfee wrote: post #18

Continuous glucose monitors have been around for a while. I'm not sure who this would help. The fundamental problem is that glucose levels in non-blood fluids do not exactly match blood glucose. The current monitor solutions use interstitial fluid in the skin. They still require the user to test themselves several times a day and recalibrate the monitor based on blood glucose, and they can't alert the user if their b…

> And there are basic hygiene problems wearing contacts while you're asleep, which is when monitoring would be most useful. If google has the technology to make contact lenses that you can wear 24/7 without getting ulcerative keratitis, that's more revolutionary than another way to monitor blood sugar

overnight and extended-wear contacts (for up to a month, I believe) have been available for many years now.

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#45

Post by morganherlocker »

IBM wrote: post #12
fesja wrote: post #2

All my praise to these Google engineers and scientists. Another completely crazy idea that will really help millions of people every day. Thanks Google! We have discovered a lot of Google X technologies in the last months. It seems that Google X is really working. We may have to stop having fun of Google+.

You've discovered a lot of Google X technologies because it is a deliberate strategy by Google to publicize these projects regardless if they will ever reach a commercial stage. They are attempting to stay relevant and perceived to be an innovative company in the eyes of their various stakeholders (employees, potential employees, shareholders, tech press, the general public, regulators, etc.) while transitioning to t…

... and when they stop, we can swoon over the tech advances of the new player. The fact that Bell Labs no longer puts out tech hardly detracts from their contributions.

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#46

Post by morganherlocker »

caseydurfee wrote: post #21
kamens wrote: post #11

Would immediately — and significantly — improve my life. Crossing my fingers very hard. Want this to be reality.

What would this do for you that a current CGM wouldn't?

The current solutions I am aware of are invasive (put a big needle into your gut and redo it again every few days), and do not allow for real time feedback. Useful in that you can analyze the data later, but hardly helps when you are currently experiencing an issue (which could be life threatening).

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#48

Post by erkkie »

morganherlocker wrote: post #41
erkkie wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm expecting sensor tech to explode in the coming years, including noninvasive cgm. Imagine high level endurance athletes on a full biometrics panel during a race, including glycose and blood pressure (among other things).

If pro athletes are where the demand lies, I am fine with that. Unfortunately, most education around diabetes has conflated type I with type II, which has caused and overemphasis on high blood sugar control, rather than low blood sugar management. Pro athletes might have the same problem as type I diabetics, which could lead to a converging need.

Getting sensors out on a non medical market (first?) might also be more feasible enabling interested people to "self medicate"

Re: Introducing our smart contact lens project (for diabetics)

#49

Post by inetsee »

I am encouraged by the fact that Google is working in this area. If any company can overcome the obstacles to this technology becoming available soon and at a reasonable price, it would probably be Google.

I am discouraged by the fact that the underlying technology (measuring glucose from tears) was first reported more than two years ago. There is another (sort of) non-invasive glucose measuring technology that involves injecting a biofluorescent dye under the skin, then using a device that measures the fluorescence that varies with the blood glucoe levels. This technology was also first reported years ago, and is also apparently nowhere near being available.

Post reply on HN