Artificial Iris in a smart contact lens

“The artificial iris solution is based on the so-called guest–host liquid crystal (GH-LCD). GH-LCD is composed by liquid crystal, chiral dopant and dichroic dye, and is capable of producing transmittance variations when an electric field is applied between its parallel electrodes, due to the combination of chirality and double absorption profiles of the mix. The GH-LCD electrodes can be partitioned in independent rings that mimic the functionality of the natural iris when actuated in the correct sequence. Controlled transmittance changes of every ring make the GH-LCD technology an interesting approach to create an active artificial iris embedded within a contact lens; opening extraordinary possibilities in patients with aniridia by attenuating the light intensity through the ocular media and offering new options for presbyopia correction by expanding depth-of-focus with an automatic control of the pupil size.”   MORE

Image Credit:  Centre for Microsystems Technology (CMST), Ghent University