1) Problem: Health
Diabetes is a growing problem in the world. As of 2014 approximately 387 million people had diabetes and the numbers are increasing sharply. In fact by 2035 it is expected to have 592 million people with this condition.
Diabetes is a chronic disease, and there is not cure for it. People with diabetes must maintain their sugar levels under control. Uncontrolled blood sugar puts diabetic people at risk for dangerous complications.
A person with type-1 diabetes must tests their blood sugar levels between four to eight times per day. This implies testing blood drops throughout the day. This is disruptive and painful and as a result many people with diabetes do not monitor their sugar level as often as they should.
2) Technology
- On January 2014, Google announced their Smart Contact Lens project. The project aims to assist diabetic people by constantly measuring their glucose levels in their tears.
- The technology is less invasive than any devise in the market.
- It uses a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor. Information about blood sugar levels could be uploaded to smart phone devises.
- On July 2014, the Google team announced a partnership with the European Drug maker Novartis to create products from Google’s prototype smart contact lens.
- And on May 2015, Google has been granted a patent for this technology.
- Currently they are working with different versions of the prototype and they expect to put the technology in the market in 5 years.
3) Stakeholders
- Google, Google X team
- Novartis
- International Diabetes Federation
- Food and Drug Administration
- Diabetic people
- Doctors
4) Steps for deployment
- Continue working with prototypes.
- Lobby with the Food and Drug Administration to obtain a license to launch the product to the public.
- Work with the International Diabetes Federation to inform diabetic people about the technology.
makeasmartcity 
I heard some noise about this late last year, and even then I was amazed at the concept of monitoring blood glucose thru a contact lens. Controlling blood sugars is the key to reducing diabetic complications and can be difficult if you have vision impairments. I’m really glad to hear that Google is moving forward with this technology.
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That is a very interesting post. I have people with diabetes in my family and I can tell it’s a struggle just to keep checking the blood sugar levels during the day. The glucose levels change with simple daily activities and having a technology that helps to detect it is a huge step. I hope they continue developing this technology.
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Wow, how cool!
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