Google is known for innovation -- and hype -- and the most recent announcement from the Mountain View giant incorporates a bit of both: Google has said it is developing a "smart contact lens" that can constantly measure glucose levels in the wearer's tears, sparking hope, and debate, among people living with diabetes.

"You've probably heard that diabetes is a huge and growing problem-affecting one in every 19 people on the planet. But you may not be familiar with the daily struggle that many people with diabetes face as they try to keep their blood sugar levels under control," began Google's announcement on its blog. "Uncontrolled blood sugar puts people at risk for a range of dangerous complications, some short-term and others longer term, including damage to the eyes, kidneys and heart."

The problem, said Google's post, is that "glucose levels change frequently with normal activity like exercising or eating or even sweating. Sudden spikes or precipitous drops are dangerous and not uncommon, requiring round-the-clock monitoring. Although some people wear glucose monitors with a glucose sensor embedded under their skin, all people with diabetes must still prick their finger and test drops of blood throughout the day. It's disruptive, and it's painful. And, as a result, many people with diabetes check their blood glucose less often than they should."

But don't worry -- Google to the rescue! "At Google[x], we wondered if miniaturized electronics -- think: chips and sensors so small they look like bits of glitter, and an antenna thinner than a human hair -- might be a way to crack the mystery of tear glucose and measure it with greater accuracy." Hence, the glucose-monitoring contact lens that's being tested by the company right now.

The soft contact lens houses tiny electronics between layers of plastic-like material that contains an antenna, capacitor, controller, and a glucose sensor. A tiny pinhole in the lens lets a bit of tear fluid seep into the glucose sensor, and the rest of the miniature electronics assembly sends the readings to a remote device that can analyze the data and alert the wearer if glucose levels have spiked or dropped. Google also considered putting tiny LED lights that could indicate if glucose levels have crossed dangerous thresholds.

But the contact lens isn't a reason to celebrate (or to proclaim that Google has fixed the biggest problem in diabetes) -- at least not yet. The lens is very much still a prototype: "It's still early days for this technology," said Google, evoking it's ever-present "early days" cautious prose, "but we've completed multiple clinical research studies which are helping to refine our prototype. We hope this could someday lead to a new way for people with diabetes to manage their disease."

The contact lens is labeled a "moonshot" project by Google, putting it in the same territory as fully functional humanoid robots, lab-grown meat, providing internet by self-piloting super-pressurized balloons in the atmosphere, and stopping the aging process. And, as Caleb Garling for SF Gate mentions, the diabetes contact lens isn't a new idea: Microsoft published almost the same blog post about the same idea from the same researcher in 2011.

While Google may be more capable of finishing projects than Microsoft -- and it did mention that it is "in talks" with the Food and Drug Administration, which at least is a (vague) step forward -- the Google Smart Contact Lens is undoubtedly far from ready to improve the lives of people suffering from diabetes.

A reason for hope in a world that is increasingly "losing the battle" against diabetes? Yes. A reason for celebration? Not yet.