Type 1 diabetes and the artificial pancreas

Thu, 30 Oct 2008
A research team the University of Virginia are reportedly trying out a new, computerised system that could help people with type 1 diabetes to control their condition. The artificial pancreas, one of the first of its kind, is being subjected to clinical tests to assess efficiency in regulating blood glucose levels amongst type 1 diabetics .

Simultaneously, six other research centres throughout the world, funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, are testing the new closed-loop computer.

An associate professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioural sciences, Boris Kovatchev, reportedly commented: "Our initial results are very encouraging. The system entirely maintained the patients' blood glucose levels, and the algorithm achieved excellent overnight control without any incidence of hypoglycaemias."

He reportedly continued: "This artificial pancreas could one day greatly improve the current methods of self-treatment for Type 1 diabetes . Instead of a patient having to measure his or her blood sugar with a glucose meter several times a day and self-administer insulin injections, this system would continuously regulate the patient's blood glucose, much like the way a non-diabetic's pancreas functions."

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