Contact lens: Future platform for mHealth?
University of Washington’s Babak Parviz believes that the future platform for wireless health will be the contact lens — that’s right, the same ones we visually impaired people wear to improve our vision. If Parviz succeeds contacts will do a lot more than just improve vision (even though they will be able to do that a whole lot better, too.) Here’s the opportunity in Parviz’s own words:
“The true promise of this research is not just the actual system we end up making, whether it’s a display, a biosensor, or both,†Dr. Parviz said in a recent interview. “We already see a future in which the humble contact lens becomes a real platform, like the iPhone is today, with lots of developers contributing their ideas and inventions. As far as we’re concerned, the possibilities extend as far as the eye can see, and beyond.â€
Even Parviz can’t resist the easy jokes and puns, but his vision is off to a good start: He has already tested prototypes of the contact lenses on rabbits, which wore them for some 20 minutes with no adverse side effects, he claimed. Parviz conducted these prototype tests early last year, and those lenses only included one LED light — a far cry from a rich user experience like the iPhone. Parviz, however, believes it’s a start.
via Contact lens: Future platform for mHealth? | mobihealthnews.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdlLVMGXSQk[/youtube]