Open AccessSmart Wireless Near‐Infrared Light Emitting Contact Lens for the Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy
Author(s) -
Lee GeonHui,
Jeon Cheonhoo,
Mok Jee Won,
Shin Sangbaie,
Kim SuKyoung,
Han Hye Hyeon,
Kim SeongJong,
Hong Sang Hoon,
Kim Hwanhee,
Joo ChounKi,
Sim JaeYoon,
Hahn Sei Kwang
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202103254
Subject(s) - light emitting diode , diabetic retinopathy , medicine , retinal , contact lens , biomedical engineering , materials science , lens (geology) , ophthalmology , diabetes mellitus , optoelectronics , optics , physics , endocrinology
Diabetic retinopathy is currently treated by highly invasive repeated therapeutic injections and surgical interventions without complete vision recovery. Here, a noninvasive smart wireless far red/near‐infrared (NIR) light emitting contact lens developed successfully for the repeated treatment of diabetic retinopathy with significantly improved compliance. A far red/NIR light emitting diode (LED) is connected with an application‐specific integrated circuit chip, wireless power, and communication systems on a PET film, which is embedded in a silicone elastomer contact lens by thermal crosslinking. After in vitro characterization, it is confirmed that the retinal vascular hyper‐permeability induced by diabetic retinopathy in rabbits is reduced to a statistically significant level by simply repeated wearing of smart far red/NIR LED contact lens for 8 weeks with 120 µW light irradiation for 15 min thrice a week. Histological analysis exhibits the safety and feasibility of LED contact lenses for treating diabetic retinopathy. This platform technology for smart LED contact lens would be harnessed for various biomedical photonic applications.