WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY


Novartis’s Jimenez believes it will create a “large revenue stream” in the whole of


the digital


healthcare market, estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth billions of dollars of revenue in the coming years.


Te technology has far-ranging applications well beyond the medical field. Google also holds a patent, filed in 2012, for a micro camera that could be incorporated into a contact lens, suggesting that Google Glass capability may one day be available in a less conspicuous form.


Te camera would sit at the edge of the contact lens, so it would naturally follow the user’s gaze without intruding on the field of vision. It could allow taking a picture simply by looking at something, perhaps with a zoom function, facial recognition


or video capture, with


data transmitted wirelessly, for instance to a smartphone.


A smart lens camera could enhance visual input in people with vision problems, for example, giving


blind and partially-sighted people


warning of an approaching car, detecting when it is safe to cross a road or recognising people they know.


Ultimately it might offer normally-sighted


people ‘super-vision’ of the kind portrayed in Terminator films, by processing the transmitted image and relaying it back to the user through the lens, for example with added telescopic, infrared or night vision images.


Google says that users will control the smart lens device by blinking, and the lens will be able to communicate to a smartphone or other peripheral device wirelessly. Te smart lens would include a tiny complementary metal oxide semiconductor camera sensor, a control circuit, and antennae to receive power wirelessly.


Data would be sent for image processing to an external source, such as a smartphone or head-mounted display (like Google Glass). Te patent provides for a pair of camera lenses, one in each eye.


Lenses for gamers


While this might seem like science fiction, one Seattle company, Innovega, already holds a patent for video contact lens-based eyewear attached to a smartphone that enables augmented reality. Te prototype, revealed in January this year, uses a head-borne apparatus panel similar to Google


Glass combined with a high-tech contact lens to give gamers a much more detailed display.


Te contact lenses refocus light so that users can see images and text that would normally be too close to the eye to be in focus. Rich media content is projected onto a transparent lens that allows the wearer to focus on the virtual media while remaining fully involved in the surrounding environment.


While gamers are the initial target audience, previous prototypes were


developed with


funding from both the NSF and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the immersive experience has other potential applications including for the military. Te manufacturers are also developing an application for use by people with age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that results in gradual decaying of central vision.


So are the future applications of smart lenses really so wide-ranging? Jeff George, head of Novartis’s eyecare division, certainly seems to think so.


“Google X’s team refer to themselves as a ‘moon shot factory’. I’d view this as better than a moon shot, given what we’ve seen,” he says. 


HOW TO FORTIFY YOUR INNOVATIONS, IDEAS AND TRADEMARKS


Innovations, models and trademarks are a valuable asset in any business. They enhance a company’s distinguishing capacity, boost its impact, strengthen its competitive position and make it more attractive to investors. Therefore, there is every reason to give Intellectual Property a prominent place in your business strategy. We can support you by protecting and enriching your innovations, models and trademarks, thanks to our extensive range of services and the expertise of our trademark, design and patent specialists who find solutions where others don’t. We are the largest consultancy in Intellectual Property in the Netherlands and one of the most pioneering firms in Europe. If you would like to know more, visit www.nlo.nl


www.lifesciencesipreview.com


Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review


Volume 2, Issue 1


21


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