A bionic contact lens tested on rabbits could eventually become a plastic platform for applications such as surfing the Internet on a virtual screen suspended in midair, immersing gamers in virtual worlds such as Second Life, and continually monitoring a patient’s medical conditions.
-- Bryn Nelson"; Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i++] = new Array("","Bionic contact lens","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080117/080117-bioniceye2-hmed-5p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "University of Washington", "273", "229", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i-1].body = "Bionic contact lens
For their prototype contact lens, a group of researchers at the University of Washington successfully integrated an antenna, tiny metal wires for an electronic circuit and red light-emitting diodes onto the surface. If safety and engineering issues are addressed, future iterations could be engineered to camouflage the circuitry – no doubt sparing its wearers some surprised looks."; Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i++] = new Array("","Tested on rabbits","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080117/080117-bioniceye3-hmed-5p.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "University of Washington", "273", "241", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i-1].body = "Tested on rabbits
Rabbits tested by University of Washington researchers tolerated wearing a bionic contact in one eye during preliminary 20-minute sessions, though researchers did not switch on any of the components and have yet to test the contacts on humans. If all goes well, putting in or taking out the lens should be similar to popping in a normal one, and the components could be confined to the periphery so they wouldn't interfere with the wearer's vision."; Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i++] = new Array("","Microfabrication","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080118/080118-fingercontact-hmed-11a.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "University of Washington", "273", "410", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i-1].body = "Microfabrication
With further advances in microfabrication, future versions of a bionic contact lens could feature wires that are essentially invisible to the human eye and tiny organic light-emitting diodes. But how to power everything? The University of Washington researchers have embedded a tiny antenna in the lens that has shown promise in collecting radio frequency waves and turning them into useful energy."; Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i++] = new Array("","Future of mobile devices?","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/080118/080118-secondcontact-hmed-10a.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "University of Washington", "273", "375", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Tech_Frontiers_BionicEye_080121[i-1].body = "Future of mobile devices?
If successful, a bionic lens could prove a huge boon for mobile-device manufacturers. Putting a display, whether of a Web site or a computer application, directly onto a user’s contact lenses would allow personal electronics to continue shrinking in size. But complicated physics may be necessary to produce an in-focus image on the contact wearer’s retina – a vital step if the lens is to be useful. “It’s unprecedented,” researcher Babak Parviz concedes. “No one has ever tried to form an image right on the surface on the cornea.”"; // END editorial data