‘Smart contact lens’ test offers vision hope

AN INTERNATIONAL team of scientists from India and the UK has developed a pioneering “smart contact lens” to test for eye infections in a quick and non-invasive way, according to a British university involved with the project.

The University of Sheffield, along with University of Bradford and the LV Prasad Eye Institute in India, hopes the test could eventually be available to use at home. It has been hailed as the next big leap in the global fight against preventable blindness, and is also expected to prevent deaths caused by fungal eye infections in developing countries.

“Eye infections – microbial keratitis – are a major cause of vision loss and blindness worldwide, and more so in India,” said Dr Prashant Garg, executive chair of the LV Prasad Eye Institute.

“Timely and correct diagnosis can facilitate timely initiation of therapy. The currently practised diagnosis method is invasive, time-consuming and expensive. The ‘smart contact lens’ technology could be the next big leap in treatment of eye infections, and our collective goal to eliminate avoidable blindness.”

Currently, detecting which bacteria or fungus is causing an eye infection is an invasive process, in which a scraping of the patient’s eye is taken under anaesthetic. The sample is then cultured for two days before being studied under a microscope.

The new test would involve the patient wearing the special lens for an hour, with the results determined soon afterwards.

“This is vital work that could save the sight of many people worldwide, by swiftly and accurately diagnosing the infection in a much more comfortable way than is currently used,” said Dr Joey Shepherd, senior lecturer in microbiology at the University of Sheffield’s School of Clinical Dentistry.

“It will also cut down on the misprescribing of antibiotics, which means we will be helping in the fight to reduce resistance to antibiotics that develop in microbes when these medicines are used without properly identifying the cause,” he added.

Initial tests in the lab have yielded positive results and human trials will be carried out once further funding is secured.

In India, there has been a rise in deaths from mucormycosis, or “black fungus”.

At particular risk are people with diabetics and those who have been treated for Covid-19 with steroids, with research showing almost a 50 per cent mortality rate in those patients.

Doctors believe the steroids lower a patient’s immunity and push up blood sugar levels, allowing the fungus to thrive.

The project has received funding from agencies including the UKRI (EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC), the Ministry of Defence, Innovate UK, Grow MedTech and Smith & Nephew.