INS13-1046
Smart Healthcare Materials and Wearable Devices for Theranostic Applications
Topic
S13. Korea-Germany Polymer Symposium 2026: “Pioneering the Future of Polymeric Materials and Bridging Innovation in Sustainable Technologies”
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
12:00 - 12:25
Room 203
Session Chairs
Bastian E. RAPP
Presenter(s)
Sei Kwang Hahn (POSTECH)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Diagnostic and therapeutic devices have been routinely used in the clinic placed at patients’ bedsides. However, with the recent progress of nanobiotechnology, a variety of wearable healthcare devices have been widely investigated for theranostic applications with greatly improved patients’ compliance. Here, we developed smart contact lenses and smart wearable devices for both continuous diabetic monitoring and diabetic retinopathy therapy. Smart contact lens could measure tear glucose levels as a non-invasive alternative to the conventional blood glucose tests and deliver drugs from gold coated reservoirs for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. We also developed a smart NIR light emitting contact lens for the diabetic diagnosis and the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. The retinal vascular hyper-permeability induced by diabetic retinopathy in rabbits was reduced to the statistically significant level by simply wearing the NIR light emitting contact lens. In addition, we developed a smart contact lens to monitor and control the intraocular pressure (IOP) for the treatment of glaucoma. The IOP could be maintained in a controlled manner by the released drug in response to the measured IOP. On the basis of these results, we developed a smart wearable device for highly sensitive glucose monitoring in sweat for clinically feasible diabetic diagnosis. A blue-tooth system could send data wirelessly allowing patients to check their diabetic diagnosis results on the mobile phones. Furthermore, we developed cell-integrated poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels for in vivo optogenetic sensing and therapy. The real-time optical readout of encapsulated heat-shock-protein-coupled fluorescent reporter cells made it possible to measure the nanotoxicity of cadmium-based quantum dots in vivo. Using optogenetic cells producing glucagon-like peptide-1, we performed light-controlled therapy and obtained improved glucose homeostasis in diabetic model mice. Taken together, we successfully developed smart wearable devices for optogenetic cellular engineering for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. This presentation will provide the current state-of-the-art smart healthcare materials and wearable devices for further clinical applications.
