Waterloo Student Wins $100,000 Grant to Develop Smart Contact Lenses

Friday, June 19 2015 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

The Thiel Foundation announced last week that its class of 2015 Thiel Fellows includes University of Waterloo student Harry Gandhi, co-founder and CEO of Medella Health, a Canadian start-up which plans to develop glucose-monitoring “smart” contact lenses to aid in diabetes management.

Recipients of the Thiel Fellowship receive $100,000 over two years and only students under 22 are eligible.

The search for continuous, non-invasive glucose monitors for the estimated 387 million diabetes sufferers worldwide is a hot topic among researchers and technology companies. Last year Alcon and Google announced that they were forming a partnership to develop glucose-monitoring contact lenses, as well as an accompanying mobile app, though experts estimate that smart contact lenses are at least five years away from being a commercial product.

Further information: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/peter-thiel-fellowship-awarded-to-4-canadian-entrepreneurs-1.3102670

UPDATE:   Medella Health closes $1.4 Mio Seed Capital Financing.