Scientists are one step closer to making smart contact lenses a reality
CTV
Scientists have created a flexible battery as thin as a human cornea that could potentially power smart contact lenses in the future, according to a new study.
Scientists have created a flexible battery as thin as a human cornea that could potentially power smart contact lenses in the future.
Researchers from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore shared the findings in a study published to the Nano Energy journal in June.
The high-tech contact lenses would include elements of augmented reality by showing information on the eye’s cornea.
The study revealed that, unlike rechargeable batteries like lithium-ion batteries that rely on wires and induction coils, metals unsafe for the use of a human eye, the 0.5 millimetres-thin NTU battery is made of "biocompatible materials" that do not contain wires or toxic metals.
The newly-developed battery has "glucose-based coating" that creates current when the saline solution’s sodium and chloride ions touch it. The battery’s water serves as the ‘wire’ for electricity to power up, the study said.
"Previous techniques for lens batteries were not perfect as one side of the battery electrode was charged and the other was not. Our approach can charge both electrodes of a battery through a unique combination of enzymatic reaction and self-reduction reaction," said the study’s lead author, professor Lee Seok Woo, in a news release.
According to the study, human tears can also power the battery because they contain sodium and potassium ions at a lower concentration.
