Google’s smart contact lens for diabetics may arrive before 2019

Last year, the company announced that it was working on a lens that would be able to measure a wearer’s glucose levels by analysing their tears.

The lens could potentially remove the need for diabetics to prick their fingers and draw blood to check their blood-sugar levels. Google has previously said that general availability of the contact lens is most likely at least five years away.

However, for a project that is supposedly in the research phase, it seems an interesting step to apply for a patent on how to package the product for consumers, according to Quartz.

A representative for Google said that product releases can not be inferred from patent applications.