Printing wirelessly rechargeable solid-state supercapacitors for soft, smart contact lenses

Recent advances in smart contact lenses can assist biomedical engineers to realize medical applications and vision imaging for augmented reality with wireless communication systems. Previous research on smart contact lenses were driven by a wireless system or wireless power transfer with temporal and spatial restrictions. Such power sources can limit their continuous use and require energy storage devices. The rigidity, heat and large battery size are also less suited for soft, smart contact lenses. In a new report on Science Advances, Jihun Park and a research team in the departments of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Nanomedicine and Department of Engineering in Korea, described a human pilot trial for smart contact lenses. They engineered the lenses with a wirelessly rechargeable, solid-state supercapacitor for continuous operation. The research team printed the supercapacitor and integrated all device components, including the antenna, rectifier and light emitting diode using stretchable structures to form the soft lens without obstructing vision. The device was reliable against thermal and electromagnetic radiation, with promising test results in vivo and substantial promise for smart contact lenses in the future.