“Latest Advance in the Treatment of Diabetes: An Artificial Pancreas”

July 9, 2009 John Mckenzie

After reading the November 2008 article (“Researchers Developing Artificial Pancreas to Treat Diabetes”), I wanted to find a more recent article which might shed some insight on new developments with the artificial pancreas. This article, published in July of 2009, focuses on the life of a 14-year-old girl, Sarah, who has briefly tried using an artificial pancreas and has experienced amazing results. According to the article, Sarah must test her blood sugar ten or more times a day, as well as count her carbohydrate intake and adjust the amount of insulin she gives herself based on this information. But for a few days Sarah didn’t have to worry about such tedious measures. Instead she was able to test out an experimental artificial pancreas, one of approximately 75 diabetes patients across the U.S. taking part in the clinical trials. Every minute, the artificial pancreas delivers the necessary amount of insulin to control sugar levels. As 7.8 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, a device which could procure these amazing results would dramatically improve the lives of millions. Currently, some diabetic patients already have continuous sensors which monitor sugar levels in the body, as well as pumps that dispense insulin. The goal of the new artificial pancreas is to link these two components. With the new technology, a sensor beneath the skin sends a signal to the transmitter, which then goes to a control box. The control box in turn tells the pump how much insulin to release. The patient feels nothing while this occurs, and can eat whatever she wants while the artificial pancreas makes all of the adjustments. But the technology is far from perfect, as researchers are now trying to make the device smaller and more precise.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MedicineCuttingEdge/story?id=8043506&page=1