Uk-based company Smart Holograms produces holograms which can be used as biosensors.

Prototypes have already been made for contact lenses that monitor glucose levels, badges that detect alcohol levels, and sticks that can tell if milk has spoiled or become contaminated. The technology will not only be quick and cheap, it will also require less training, as the hologram can be designed to show results graphically.

A test showing that fuel has been contaminated with trace amounts of water reads “dry” or “wet.” In a breath alcohol test, suspects breathe onto tiny cards that either show a green automobile or a red X, establishing whether a person is sober enough to drive. Diabetics having the technology inside a contact lens just have to take a photo of the lens using a mini camera, and beam the data to a hospital using a mobile phone.

Via Slashdot eWeek. More details in OE Magazine.