Poland: Relief for dry eye syndrome patients

Dry eye syndrome affects millions of people worldwide, yet effective and convenient treatment methods remain limited. Offering hope, Polish company Grinn, a specialist in advanced electronic healthcare solutions, has partnered with organisations in Italy, Spain and Switzerland in a Eureka project to develop smart medical glasses.

The DESyMED project was born from a shared goal: developing a non-invasive therapy for dry eye syndrome. The collaboration has resulted in a prototype smart eyewear equipped with ultrasonic nebulisers that, when worn, generate constant moisture, alleviating irritation for patients.

Participating in the Eureka DESyMED project was a great opportunity for Grinn. We expanded our expertise in designing and certifying medical devices, gained valuable experience in innovative optometric solutions, built strong European partnerships, and increased our visibility, opening new opportunities in the medical technology market.

Lukasz Gajda – board member at Grinn

Deceptively lightweight and user-friendly, the eyewear integrated advanced embedded electronics, sensors, a camera interface, actuators, wireless communication to a mobile application and a sanitising device. In fact, fitting all these elements into the frame was one of the biggest challenges; the team at Grinn joked that during development, playing “the world’s smallest electronics Tetris” became part of their daily routine.

Cooperation between the partners made all these features possible: Grinn designed, implemented and integrated the embedded electronics; SUPSI provided medical knowledge and clinical input; BH Swiss contributed expertise in microtechnology; and ABA Mobile created the linked phone application.

Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and component shortages, the project team delivered a functional prototype. The next step was to validate the electronic components through electromagnetic compatibility testing. Although other clinical and microbiological validations were postponed beyond the project’s duration, the prototype is now ready for certification and commercialisation.

Support from Eureka and the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) was crucial. It enabled international collaboration, access to funding, reduced financial risk and ensured effective coordination between the partners. Eureka’s structured framework helped the project team overcome disruptions, manage consortium changes and maintain project continuity. Participation in the programme also increased the visibility of the project, strengthening the partners’ positions in the European market and their ability to enter new medical technology markets.

For Grinn, the project has broadened competencies in designing and certifying medical devices, whilst deepening expertise in innovative electronic solutions for optometry. It reinforced the Polish company’s position as a provider of advanced medical electronics.

For society, DESyMED addresses unmet medical needs. Now, with more accessible, non-invasive treatments, improving patients’ quality of life and reducing long-term healthcare costs for those with dry eye syndrome, we move closer to a future where there is not a dry eye in sight.