Scientists from the University of South Australia’s Future Industries Institute have successfully completed ‘proof of concept’ research on a polymer thin-film coating that conducts electricity on a contact lens, with the potential to build miniature electrical circuits that are safe to be worn by a person. The new technology could provide one of the safest methods to bring people and their smart devices closer together. Building on the technologies pioneered in thin film coatings for the development of the world’s first fully plastic car mirrors, the researchers have teamed up with a UK partner that specializes in contact lenses.

The film coating technology can be used to make biocompatible, conducting polymers at the nanoscale and grow them directly on a contact lens. The fluids in the eye provide markers of a person's health, creating the potential for a range of personalized health monitoring applications that could make life simpler for people struggling with chronic health p...