An Israeli professor (Zeev Zalevsky) is developing a special contact lens that could give vision to the blind. The contacts stimulate the cornea, an area of the body that is more sensitive to tactile sensations than even the fingertips. Rather than restoring vision, the system provides a form of sensory substitution.

Several articles about Zalevsky's invention appear to be inaccurate. They suggest the sensations are somehow picked up by the wearer's retina. However, Zalevsky suggests his approach could be useful for people who do not have normal retinas. And he says his approach offers greater resolution than the artificial retinas under development. Plus, artificial retinas require surgery and that involves risks.

The lenses contain a grid that acts like 10,000 tiny electrodes. The lenses work in combination with a digital camera or the digital camera in a smartphone. Though this is an early-stage technology, it's a wonderful example of the potential medical applications for smartphones.

The UK Daily Mail reports on a "computerized contact lens" that might one day be used to stream information and gather physiological data:

...scientists have developed a prototype lens that could one day provide the wearer with all kinds of hands-free information.

It could also be used to display directions and TV programmes.

The lenses, which would be inserted and removed like normal contacts, could also be handy if you are indeed enjoying the great outdoors, allowing you to zoom in on distant views.

While the amount of information that could appear in front of our faces is tantalising, the researchers insist all the components are tiny and the normal field of vision will not be obstructed.

The super-lenses are the brainchild of Professor Babak Parviz, a contact lens-wearing engineer who specialises in making parts on the nanoscale, thousands of times thinner than a human hair.

So far, he has created a lens which is implanted with tiny components, including a single LED light, an antenna that picks up power and information through a wireless connection, and an electronic circuit.

This device is a long way from being practical. And that's a good thing, because it could be used to either empower or enslave individuals.

The article is followed by another about a retinal implant for people suffering from a specific form of blindness that has reportedly produced "astonishing" results in small-scale trials.