This study presented a wireless smart contact lens system that was composed of a reconfigurable capacitive sensor interface circuitry and wirelessly powered radio-frequency identification (RFID) addressable system for sensor control and data communication. In order to improve compliance and reduce user discomfort, a capacitive sensor was embedded on a soft contact lens of 200 μm thickness using commercially available bio-compatible lens material and a standard manufacturing process. The results indicated that the reconfigurable sensor interface achieved sensitivity and baseline tuning up to 120 pF while consuming only 110 μW power. The range and sensitivity tuning of the readout circuitry ensured a reliable operation with respect to sensor fabrication variations and independent calibration of the sensor baseline for individuals. The on-chip voltage scaling allowed the further extension of the detection range and prevented the implementation of large on-chip elements. The on-lens system enabled the detection of capacitive variation caused by pressure changes in the range of 2.25 to 30 mmHg and hydration level variation from a distance of 1 cm using incident power from an RFID reader at 26.5 dBm.

This study proposes a capacitor-based sensor on a soft contact lens for the measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP). The sensor was designed and fabricated via microelectromechanical system fabrication technologies. The soft contact lens is designed to be worn on a cornea such that the curvature of the contact lens corresponds substantially to that of the cornea. In addition, the contact lens was fabricated via a cast-molding method using poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate to achieve a lens with high oxygen permeability, which can be worn comfortably for a long time. An IOP sensor prototype was implemented, which exhibited 1.2239 pF mmHg −1 (13,171 ppm mmHg −1 ) sensitivity during measurements of an artificial anterior chamber at pressures between 18 and 30 mmHg. The results indicate that the developed capacitor-based IOP sensor exhibited high stability and reproducibility in a series of measurements performed under various pressures. The capacitance of the proposed IOP sensor can successfully be converted into a digital value via a capacitor-to-digital converter and be transmitted via a commercial wireless telemetry system in this study.