Ocular Biosensors and Bioelectronics: From Bench to Bedside

The eye offers a uniquely accessible window for continuous, minimally invasive monitoring of physiological and biochemical signals relevant to both ocular and systemic health. Advances in biosensor fabrication, flexible bioelectronics, microfluidics, and artificial intelligence are enabling a new generation of ocular biosensing devices that can acquire, wirelessly transmit, and intelligently interpret signals such as intraocular pressure, tear-film biomarkers, and ocular electrophysiological activity. By integrating biosensing elements directly with the ocular environment, these devices aim to establish closed-loop channels for real-time diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy — supporting the shift toward personalized, point-of-care, and home-based eye care in line with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).In recent years, substantial progress has been made in ocular biosensors and bioelectronics, represented by smart contact lenses that sense intraocular pressure and tear biomarkers, wearable and periorbital electronic skin, implantable ocular sensors, and microfluidic lab-on-a-chip platforms for ocular fluid analysis. These devices have advanced from laboratory proof-of-concept to animal studies and preliminary clinical exploration, demonstrating strong potential in glaucoma detection, diabetic eye disease monitoring, and continuous management of chronic ocular conditions. However, translation from “bench to bedside” still faces critical bottlenecks, including miniaturization and long-term stability of power supply, integration and anti-interference of multimodal biosensing, biocompatibility and long-term safety of implants, and real-time, AI-driven processing of large-scale physiological and biochemical data within personalized diagnostic–therapeutic closed loops.This Research Topic aims to bring together interdisciplinary research teams — spanning biosensor engineering, flexible bioelectronics, ophthalmology, and data science — to address key challenges in ocular biosensing, from fundamental device development to clinical translation.We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Perspectives, and Methods articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Novel flexible/biocompatible materials and biosensor fabrication tailored for the ocular environment (e.g., smart contact lenses, periorbital electronic skin, implantable and wearable ocular sensors)o Wireless, battery-free, or passive energy-harvesting strategies for ocular biosensing deviceso Multi-parameter ocular biosensing systems, and closed-loop bioelectronic platforms for monitoring and therapy of ocular diseases (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy)o Microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices for tear-film and ocular-fluid biomarker analysis and point-of-care diagnosticso Artificial-intelligence-assisted processing of biosensor-derived ocular data for auxiliary diagnosis, when directly coupled to the biosensing device or signalo Clinical translation, biocompatibility, and long-term safety of ocular biosensors and bioelectronic systemsThis Research Topic focuses on biosensor and bioelectronic devices as the core technology. Submissions dealing with intraocular pressure, monitoring, or therapy will be considered only when framed as an integrated biosensing/bioelectronic device or closed-loop system, rather than as standalone physical (e.g., purely mechanical/pressure) transducers. Similarly, therapeutic components must be driven by biosensing signals within an integrated bioelectronic system, rather than independent therapeutic devices. AI-related submissions must be directly coupled to biosensor-derived data; standalone medical imaging analyses (e.g., OCT or fundus image diagnostics unconnected to a biosensing device) fall outside the scope of this Topic. This Research Topic does not accept bibliometric studies, reports on standalone physical or optical sensors, medical imaging studies unconnected to biosensing, or light-based therapies. Topic editors: Yanlong Bi, Guangfu Wu, Meng Wang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84139/ocular-biosensors-and-bioelectronics-from-bench-to-bedside