The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval last month of Triggerfish, a soft silicone contact lens with an embedded sensor that detects tiny changes or fluctuations in an eye’s volume, marks the start of a new era in vision care health in the U.S.

Although Triggerfish, made by the Swiss company Sensimed, is the first wired contact lens to be approved by the FDA, other manufacturers are expected to soon follow with their own devices. Alcon, for instance, is working with Google to develop a contact lens that can monitor glucose levels in tears, a valuable tool for managing diabetes. Also, a company called E-Vision has developed a “tunable” technology for contact lenses, IOLs and eyeglass lenses that rely on electrically modulating optics and lenses to refract, diffract or diffuse light. Other medical tech companies are working on electronic lenses that could deliver medicine or provide therapy.

As wonderful as these new technologies may be, the idea of having a wired device on my eye, or implanted in it, makes me a bit uneasy. What if somebody hacked it?

Skilled hackers have shown that it’s possible to tamper with devices such as wireless insulin pumps or heart monitors. What’s to prevent someone from hacking your CL or IOL? Your personal health data could be at risk. More concerning, though, is the potential for a malicious hacker to compromise the performance of a lens. Imagine losing your focus while driving a car or crossing a street.

Some optical experts point out that hacking these lenses will be difficult because they will controlled by wrist-worn devices and will only function when the device is in close proximity to the lens. For example, in order to change a setting on your lens, you would need to move your hand in front of your face.

That’s reassuring. But potential cybersecurity problems may still exist. Makers of wired contact lenses and IOLs and even spectacle lenses will need to take steps to safeguard their products before introducing them into the market. They’ll also need to reassure consumers that their products are reasonably safe from hacking before consumers will embrace them.

Andrew Karp
Group Editor, Lenses and Technology
[email protected]