Lab‐on‐a‐Contact Lens: Recent Advances and Future Opportunities in Diagnostics and Therapeutics

The eye is one of the most complex organs in the human body, containing rich and critical physiological information (e.g., intraocular pressure, corneal temperature, and pH) as well as a library of metabolite biomarkers (e.g., glucose, proteins, and specific ions). Smart contact lenses (SCLs) can serve as a wearable intelligent ocular prosthetic device capable of non-invasive and continuous monitoring of various essential physical/biochemical parameters and drug loading/delivery for the treatment of ocular diseases. Advances in SCL technologies and the growing public interest in personalized health are accelerating SCL research more than ever before. Here, we discussed the current status and potential of SCL development through a comprehensive review from fabrication to applications to commercialization. First, we discuss the material, fabrication, and platform designs of the SCLs for the diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Then, we review the latest advances in diagnostic and therapeutic SCLs for clinical translation. Later, we summarize the established techniques for wearable power transfer and wireless data transmission applied to current SCL devices. We also provide an outlook, future opportunities, and challenges for developing next-generation SCL devices. With the rise in interest of SCL development, this comprehensive and essential review can serve as a new paradigm for the SCL devices.