The team is based at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) in collaboration with Yonsei University.
The lens is considered Korea's first smart intraocular lens technology, capable of diagnosing Alzheimer's, a degenerative brain disease, at its early stages. It works by being inserted into the eye to detect biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, as well as other neurological and degenerative brain diseases.
To detect these biomarkers, the researchers focused on the characteristics of the eye, which is directly connected to the brain. They developed an implantable biosensing system by mounting a bioresponsive hydrogel-based sensing module capable of detecting various biomarkers on an intraocular lens to express a signal in a moiré pattern.
When the hydrogel pattern reacted with the target biomarker, it contracted, allowing the scientists to identify it.
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