EPGL Smart Contact Lens Technology Is Attracting 'Giants' of the Industry

IRVINE, Calif., April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EP Global Communications, Inc. (Public OTC: EPGL). Since Announcing Settlement with CooperVision, Inc., at the beginning of 2016, in which EPGL gained full ownership of its pending patents, EPGL management has been receiving inquiries from major industry titans. The Company is now negotiating its first new relationships since that time while continuing to progress its pending patents.  To that end, EPGL has filed the latest in a series of patents pending in the hot new field of smart contact lens technology.  The latest filing is for an optic display mechanism within the contact lens which could lay a new foundation for augmented reality (AR) in the field of vision. The original US provisional version of this patent was filed over a year ago and the new PCT filing is not yet public.  "The major difference with EPGL's technology and the competition thus far is that we are the only company to publicly show our electronic circuitry material in a photo; which has been proven to integrate distortion free into real silicone hydrogel contact lenses," said Michael Hayes, President of EPGL.  "That's a big deal considering our competition is Google, Facebook and Samsung to name a few.  EPGL is a major player given some of our pending patents," Hayes added.

What is the big deal about smart contact lens technology you ask?  The vision revolution underway with such virtual reality entries as Oculus by Facebook and Hololens by Microsoft is just in its infancy, estimated at $150 billion.  The market for augmented reality or "AR" is equally large.  That is where contact lenses come in.  The holy grail of the industry is to put AR into the smallest, most discrete wearable you can find.  Many industry leading CEO's estimate that most of what you can do with your smartphone today will be integrated into or onto your body in the future.  Data display and electronic vision enhancement is going to be a major part of peoples' lives going into the future.

Several of EPGL's patents pending have become public in recent weeks resulting in new interest from major companies.  In addition to several patents pending, EPGL recently published a photo on www.epglmed.com of its electronic circuitry platform developed and bench tested at world-class contact lens manufacturing facilities.  The photo is the only known picture made public to date of electronic circuitry that has been proven to integrate successfully into real-world silicone hydrogel contact lenses. When EPGL was developing the technology with CooperVision, Inc., the challenge was to create electronic circuitry substrate that could withstand the rigors of the state of the art contact lens manufacturing process and come out the other end intact and without distortion. EPGL's design does not require expensive layering techniques or re-tooling of the current mold process during manufacturing, thus making it a very attractive and less costly solution.

The aforementioned patents pending join other EPGL technologies such as its piezoelectric sensor in a contact lens which uses the vibration of the Ciliary muscles in the eye to actuate autofocus capabilities, the technique for creating pre-defined spaces within a contact lens for mechanisms and reservoirs, energy harvesting of the eye movement and an additional non-public patent as yet for changing the focus of a contact lens upon demand by the human eye.

A vision revolution is widely regarded to be "the next big thing" in technology and EPGL is currently getting the attention of the biggest vision companies in the world with new potential relationships developing.  Estimates of the market size rival that of the smart phone industry in the years to come.  The contact lens format for these technologies is the holy grail because of the discrete and comfortable nature, rather than less desired "Cyborg" styled eyewear such as with Google Glass and other goggles.  In addition to the market size of augmented reality, electronically assisted vision correction in the form of autofocus in a contact lens could disrupt the Lasik surgery and ocular surgical markets.

About EP Global Communications, Inc.  

EP Global Communications, Inc. is an advanced technology research and development company for both medical devices and consumer electronics devices specializing in microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMS).

RELATED LINKS 

http://www.epglmed.com

SOURCE EP Global Communications, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.epglmed.com