Scientists have created an ultra-thin battery for sensible contact lenses that’s charged by our personal tears. The battery is wafer-thin at 0.2mm, roughly twice the thickness of a human hair, and it suits comfortably inside the usual contact lens thickness of 0.5mm.
Lee Seok Woo, a scientist, shared {that a} “Mission Inconceivable” film scene sparked the thought for his invention—batteries for sensible contact lenses. Within the film’s fourth installment, an agent makes use of contact lenses which have capabilities corresponding to facial recognition and eye monitoring. Impressed by this, Lee aimed to show this fictional expertise into actuality.
Researchers in Singapore have developed an ultra-thin battery that may be embedded onto your contact lenses.
The battery, which can even be powered by your tears, has made “Mission Inconceivable”-style sensible contact lenses one step nearer to actuality. pic.twitter.com/wlp45fwtLK
— CNBC Worldwide (@CNBCi) June 6, 2024
Reflecting on his motivations, Lee, an affiliate professor at Nanyang Technological College’s College of Electrical and Digital Engineering, informed CNBC’s “The Edge,” “I used to be considering, ‘How can I work on this subject of sensible contact lenses?’”
His background in battery elements obtained him into wearable expertise. Lee acknowledged that sensible contact lenses would require protected and compact batteries, that are important for the long run improvement of those gadgets.
How can the battery of sensible contact lenses be charged by tears?
The battery is powered by a “biocompatible saline resolution” as a substitute of a typical lithium-ion battery utilized in smartphones and smartwatches, which might not be protected for a product corresponding to a contact lens.
This battery has a standard wired charging technique, in addition to a chemical course of. It features a glucose coating and, after being dipped in saline, reacts with the sodium and chloride ions to generate energy.
Chemically charging the battery for eight hours permits it to maintain 80 % of its most capability, after which it may perform for a number of hours. As well as, another and distinctive energy supply is on the market.
“Tear resolution additionally accommodates glucose. Which means, when you’re sporting the contact lens, your tears may also cost the battery,” defined Lee. “In the event you cry extra, then you’ll be able to cost your battery extra.”
At current, the battery’s capability and voltage are comparatively low, producing solely about 0.3V – 0.6V, whereas a typical AA battery delivers 1.5V.
The present output will not be sufficient to allow information storage or web connectivity, however efforts are underway to enhance the battery’s efficiency.
Lee sees potential purposes within the healthcare sector. “We use glucose as a biofuel. There are lots of diabetic sufferers who test their glucose degree day-after-day,” Lee acknowledged. “We studied how we are able to detect glucose degree whereas the person is sporting the contact lens.”
Regardless of the promising features of this expertise, Lee believes it’s essential to take care of low manufacturing prices as a result of restricted battery capability. “As soon as it goes into very critical commercialization, the price of the battery ought to solely be a couple of {dollars},” Lee acknowledged.
Featured picture: Canva