In the news yesterday, many of us read about American teenager Christopher Herndon. Like most other lads his age, he loves sports. Fishing, swimming, running, mountain biking, you name it!
We all know it’s a pain in the proverbial to spend so much time in a day testing, logging, injecting, correcting, etc. and we all understand the difference that could be made to our quality of life by simply no longer having to worry about these things.
Last summer, lucky Christopher was selected as one of a small group of people who got the opportunity to test out what is known as a bionic pancreas. The device uses a smart phone, CGM (continuous glucose monitor) and a pump to automatically deliver the correct amount of insulin. Not only this, but it also delivers the appropriate amount of glucagon in order to raise blood glucose levels.
The devices involved aren’t necessarily revolutionary, but the way they have been made to interact is something quite special.
Christopher says it transformed his life for the brief time he used it.
“I used the bionic pancreas last summer at camp. The week that I was on the bionic pancreas I never had to sit out any activities because my blood sugar was low.”
“If I had the bionic pancreas, I could do so much more with it and I could feel normal more.”
