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Vision Monday’s lenses and technology editor, Andrew Karp, introduced a dynamic Eye2 session that explored how wearable and implantable technologies are creating new ways of “seeing.” Drawing an analogy with media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s famous maxim, Karp said, “The deeper we get involved with wearable and implantable technology, the more the medium becomes the message, and the more we really become part of the Internet of Things.”





Jerry Legerton, OD, co-founder of the wearable technology company Innovega, provided an overview of eyewear wearables before seguing into a discussion of smart, sensor-enabled contact lenses. “This is an exciting new area that represents the confluence of vision care and the consumer electronics industry,” Legerton said. “I think the genius of the next decade is figuring out how to put the health care profession and consumer electronics under one roof. Where do we go from here? And where will we be on that technology adoption curve? Will we spiral downward or will we climb to greater profitability and success?”

Legerton said he believes consumers will embrace new wearables because they create enjoyable experiences. “As optometrists, our goal is helping our patients adapt to these new technologies,” he said.

Jerry Legerton, OD, co-founder of Innovega.
Andrew Karp, VM’s lenses and technology editor.
In a similar vein, Michael McAlpine, PhD, associate professor at Princeton University, described how his research team learned to combine 3D printing with 3D scanning to create “smart prosthetics.” Using this “bio-augmentation” technique, the Princeton researchers created a functional, prosthetic ear and a unique contact lens that incorporates an LED display.

“Usually when people talk about bionics, they’re referring to this idea that maybe you can make robots more and more like humans, which is a very worthy goal,” said McAlpine.

“But we kind of had the inverse vision, which is can you actually make humans more and more like robots? How do you merge electronics and electronic devices with the human body? What our group has been doing is using 3D printing to overcome all these issues. You have nano-inks which give you the functionality, you have micro-scale printing which is at the level of biology and then you can print into a macro-scale device that can actually make something you can hold in your hand.”

Michael McAlpine, PhD, associate professor at Princeton University.
Steven Prawer, PhD, professor at the University of Melbourne.
Ashish Ahuja, PhD, from Meta.
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Steven Prawer, PhD, professor at the University of Melbourne, discussed the development by Bionic Eye of Australia of an implantable device that is restoring sight to people with end-stage macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. “The device stimulates the inner retina by bypassing the damaged photoreceptors,” he noted.

Prawer added that the goal for the device is to “restore functional vision so people can navigate and recognize large type.” He presented a video clip featuring a woman who has had the device implanted in her eye and who is learning how to see with it.

One of the challenges in designing the device is to protect the electronics from the body, and vice versa. Prawer said his research team at Bionic Eye of Australia use diamonds in the manufacturing process because of their strength and durability. Another challenge is combining functionality and aesthetics. “In order for our devices to succeed, they must work well and be beautiful to the extent they can be,” he remarked.

Another dimension of vision was presented by Ashish Ahuja, PhD, of Meta, a company that is a fast-rising star in the field of augmented reality (AR) eyewear. “Our glasses offer the complete augmented reality experience. You can see, create and interact with virtual objects and apps inserted into one’s real environment. I’m talking about replacing the keypad. I’m talking about replacing the mouse.”

To illustrate his points, Ahuja showed a video that demonstrated how Meta glass wearers can manipulate virtual objects. “You can see that hand gestures are being picked up,” he said, referring to the Meta users in the video. “This is an application that lends itself to three-dimensionality. It doesn’t lend itself to a book. It doesn’t lend itself to a monitor.”

Ahuja said that Meta recently began shipping a version of Meta to software developers who are creating applications for it. As the company readies a consumer version of the smart glasses, Ahuja said it is positioning itself to “lead the next evolution of AR, replacing smartphones and tablets with a more natural-to-use system set entirely in a pair of glasses.”

akarp@jobson.com