Solar-powered and wireless eye sensor is super small

Don’t you just love the wonders of miniaturization? That’s exactly what happened with this solar-powered eye sensor that is also wireless to boot – measuring the size of a cubic millimeter. Built specially for glaucoma patients (and we do hope that the pioneering technology found inside will be able to be implemented into other cooler designs down the road), the device is capable of taking in measurements every 15 minutes, uploading the readings daily via 400MHz and 900MHz frequencies.

Since it is so small in nature, it will naturally sip very little juice – the antenna itself requires a mere 47 microwatts to function by transmitting a single bit thanks to a pulse from a capacitor. This is the case because the integrated battery delivers a mere 40 microwatts of juice. The capacitor within will repeat this process until it completes a grand total of 1.5Kb of data. Capable of running for up to 28 days before it gives up the ghost, the system will further enlist the help of a solar cell that is capable of recharging itself in slightly more than 10 hours of indoor of 1.5 hours of outdoor lightning.

This system has yet to undergo trials in humans to date, and are still some years away from happening, but the team is more than forward looking to introduce a color matching system for the eyes so that such sensors will be able to make fashion statements at the same time. Bear in mind that what you see above is not the sensor, but just a stock photography sample for context.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Green, Medical
Tags: Solar, solar power, solar powered