Artificial pancreas closer to reality

Mon, 05 Jul 2010
Scientists have admitted that the concept of inserting artificial pancreases into patients with type 1 diabetes has moved a step closer to reality. Research has been ongoing for a number of years into the making an artificial pancreas that can better control glucose levels, but recent breakthroughs have raised expectations that the technology could be made commercially available in just a few years.

Researchers from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the international charity Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) recently reported to the ADA about progress into treatments for type 1 diabetes, especially the artificial pancreas project.

The new technology, which involves an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitor and an innovative computer programme, attempts to provide the right amount of insulin to the body exactly when it needs it in the same way that a healthy pancreas will.

The insulin pump delivers insulin through a long tube connected to a catheter inserted under the skin, the glucose monitor is connected to a wireless transmitter that sends glucose readings to a display, while the computer programme uses the readings to work out the levels of glucose in the body. It is intended to work as a closed loop system without any intervention by the patient.

One team, from the University of Cambridge, said that there were impressive early results from a new clinical study into how adults with type 1 diabetes can use the new artificial pancreas technology to significantly improve the control of glucose levels overnight without increasing their risk of low blood sugar .

Another study, at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, is attempting to identify the characteristics of those who suffer from type 1 diabetes and who are most likely to be successful users of continuous glucose monitors.

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