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  • Imagine a world where you look across

  • the street and get directions

  • or see information on your heart rate

  • while cycling without looking down.

  • All could be possible with smart contact lenses,

  • a sci-fi-movie scenario that's becoming

  • more and more of a reality.

  • Samsung, Google, and Sony have experimented

  • with smart contact lenses since 2014,

  • with hopes of them taking photos and video

  • with a blink of an eye

  • or measuring your glucose levels.

  • And today, dedicated US optics companies

  • are testing their prototypes,

  • some that could display notifications

  • like how your smartphone would

  • or give you timely information

  • without interrupting your focus.

  • Mike Wiemer: Whether you're a delivery person

  • or somebody working to put parts together,

  • being able to have those directions

  • in a eyes-up and hands-free environment is important.

  • Surgeons with real-time biometrics of the patient.

  • There are some retail prototypes that we're looking at.

  • Can someone be able to interact with a customer,

  • or just eyes up in the moment, making eye contact,

  • and yet know that, that thing that they're asking about,

  • there are actually two more back in the stockroom?

  • Narrator: This all sounds cool,

  • but we're still years away

  • from getting these contact lenses into our eyes.

  • Why?

  • It all comes down to the tech,

  • medical approval, and market value.

  • Let's start with the tech,

  • which has to be really tiny.

  • Ashley Tuan: If you asked me 10 years ago,

  • I would say that's impossible for you

  • to put the kind of electronics you'd need in a contact lens.

  • Narrator: Nanotechnology for smart contact lenses

  • wasn't readily available until the early 2000s.

  • But even with the technology,

  • implementing it comes with challenges.

  • Tuan: This concept is straightforward.

  • I think the most difficult part is to figure out,

  • how do you do engineering to put everything together?

  • Narrator: So, companies have to carefully consider

  • which type of contact lens to use as their base

  • and build the technology from there.

  • Mojo Vision uses a scleral lens

  • with all the technology embedded inside the lens

  • and a wearable neck device as the processor,

  • while Innovega uses a soft lens

  • with a polarizer filter that pairs with glasses

  • that handle most of the technology.

  • But each type of contact lens

  • comes with its own difficulties.

  • Tuan: We've identified that the best

  • contact-lens platform to meet our need

  • is the scleral-lens platform

  • because of the rigidity of it

  • is actually protective to your eye,

  • and it provides the stability once it's on eye.

  • It's not popular because

  • it has been difficult to manufacture.

  • Every lens, you can consider it being custom made.

  • So it takes more time to fit the lens

  • and takes more time to make the lens.

  • However, in recent years,

  • scleral lens became more popular again

  • because they realized that now it's easier to make,

  • now it's easier to fit.

  • Narrator: Meanwhile, at Innovega...

  • Jerome Legerton: We started with a scleral lens,

  • which is a hard shell.

  • The difficulty that was perceived was so great,

  • but then we really saw the value,

  • and it needs to be a soft lens.

  • And that even took us

  • in a different path with the polarizer.

  • Narrator: After figuring out the manufacturing issues

  • and the tech behind the polarizer,

  • both companies had to make sure

  • their contact lenses were...

  • Tuan: Superior performance, gas permeable.

  • Legerton: Biocompatible.

  • Narrator: Which leads us to the next challenge,

  • medical approval.

  • Since these smart contact lenses

  • are considered a medical device,

  • they need to be approved by the FDA.

  • Legerton: If we're making the claim,

  • then we have to prove we do that.

  • Tuan: You try to figure out if there

  • is anything that could be potentially harmful.

  • Narrator: After verifying the physical

  • and chemical properties of the lens material

  • through multiple preclinical tests,

  • the companies can move on to clinical trials.

  • Tuan: And then there's specific

  • animal testing that you need to do.

  • And those, we are looking at ocular irritation,

  • or you're looking at skin sensitivity.

  • If everything's passed,

  • then we can consider for humans on eye testing.

  • Narrator: Currently, this is where both companies are at.

  • Legerton: But we've been conducting a number

  • of the phase two clinicals to verify our design

  • and compare it to other marketed lenses

  • so that we know where it is.

  • Tuan: We'll debate what's the worst-case scenario,

  • and we mitigate the risk to as low as it can be.

  • And then we look at whether it is comfortable,

  • whether the functionality is working as intended,

  • and it has been really incredible experience.

  • Narrator: The last challenge is effectively

  • introducing this product to the market.

  • A few reasons Google Glass wasn't popular

  • was because of its high price tag, awkward display,

  • and video-recording capabilities.

  • But Mojo Vision and Innovega

  • are not in a rush to appeal to the masses.

  • They are helping a specific market first

  • and then growing from there.

  • Legerton: The first customers are the visually impaired.

  • The next customers would be in sports analytics

  • and sports performance enhancement,

  • where people need their hands free,

  • but yet want the information readily available.

  • Wiemer: Hospitality-slash- entertainment is interested,

  • automobile market is interested,

  • retail is interested.

  • I think what we need to do

  • is demonstrate our ability to deliver

  • and the market's desire to use it,

  • even on a, relatively speaking, small scale.

  • And if we can do that,

  • we earn the right to continue.

  • And if we continue to earn the right to continue,

  • I think we've got a whole new category

  • to explore over, you know, decades or something.

  • Narrator: Mojo Vision hasn't come up

  • with a price tag or release date yet,

  • but Innovega says its smart contact lens

  • could receive market clearance by the end of 2021.

  • Its smart contact lens could cost about

  • the same as daily disposable lenses,

  • and its glasses could be anywhere

  • from $3,000 to $5,000.

  • But the company expects the price to decrease over time

  • once it can produce larger quantities.

  • Wiemer: In the years working on this topic,

  • I really believe this,

  • that smart contact lenses are a thing.

  • There isn't a product

  • that you can go out and buy right now,

  • but I can tell you, there will be.

  • Michelle Yan: Currently, both companies still need

  • another device to pair with their smart contact lenses,

  • and Innovega even plans

  • to keep their glasses in the long run.

  • But this is the most progress that we've seen so far.

  • So, what do you think?

  • Would you wear smart contact lenses?

  • What are some of your concerns?

  • Let us know in the comments,

  • and subscribe to our YouTube channel

  • so you don't miss the next episode.

Imagine a world where you look across

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