Artificial pancreas hope for children with diabetes
Posted: Fri 5th February, 2010 at 09:25
Scientists in Cambridge have shown that an "artificial pancreas" can be used to regulate blood sugar in children with Type 1 diabetes.
A trial found that combining a "real time" sensor measuring glucose levels with a pump that delivers insulin can boost overnight blood sugar control.
The Lancet study showed the device significantly cut the risk of blood sugar levels dropping dangerously low.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life threatening condition, in which the pancreas does not produce insulin - the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.
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We need to redouble our efforts to move the artificial pancreas from a concept in the clinic to a reality in the home of children and adults with Type 1 diabetes Karen Addington, Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund |
In total, 17 children and teenagers with Type 1 diabetes took part in the study over 54 nights in hospital.
Individually, the glucose monitoring system and the insulin pump used in the study are both already widely used and commercially available.
But in order to turn them into a "closed loop" system which monitors the patient´s condition and delivers treatment accordingly, the researchers developed a sophisticated algorithm to calculate the appropriate amount of insulin to deliver based on the real-time glucose readings.
They then measured how well the artificial pancreas system controlled glucose levels compared with the children´s regular continuous pump, which delivers insulin at preselected rates.
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