Novartis said that Alcon, its eye care unit, had struck a deal to license so-called smart lens technology from one of Google's research divisions. As part of the agreement, Alcon said it would look to create products from Google's prototype smart contact lens, which uses miniature sensors and a radio antenna thinner than a human hair to track glucose levels.
Information about blood sugar levels, which is particularly useful for people with diabetes, could be uploaded to smartphone devices and used by doctors and patients to monitor the data almost in real time, according to a statement from Google issued when the company released its prototype in January.
Joe Jimenez, the chief executive of Novartis, acknowledged in an interview that many previous attempts to develop noninvasive glucose tests had failed, noting that the company previously tried — and failed — to develop its own glucose-monitoring contact lenses several years ago.
What makes this case different is the involvement of Google's engineers, he said. "One of the biggest hurdles was miniaturization, and that's one of the biggest benefits that Google X brings," he said. "This is a set of engineers that are really doing incredible things with technology.