Artificial Pancreas Passes Feasibility Study – Very Successfully At That
Diabetes is a growing problem in our North American society and sufferers of Type 1 diabetes are faced with a lifetime of coping with a pancreas that is impaired and having to take life saving insulin.
That could be changing though thanks to a first generation artificial pancreas that is making its way through studies with an unexpected success rate.
The results from a very successful clinical trial on humans are garnering some excitement in medical circles as it is able to automatically predict a rise and fall in blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetes sufferers, enabling it to increase or decrease insulin delivery.
The study was made up of 13 patients with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S. and the device, called the Hypoglycemia-Hyperglycemia Minimizer (HHM) System, was monitored for 24 hours per participant during periods of open and closed loop control by using a control algorithm with a safety module connected to a laptop.
The HHM is made up of an implantable insulin pump, glucose monitor, and special software that is used to predict changes in the patient’s blood glucose levels.
Apparently by the end of the study the researchers were very happy to see that the algorithm worked and that the HHM system was able to safely keep patient glucose levels within a target range.
The company behind the system, Animas Corporation, was given the green light for the study by the FDA in June of 2011 and these latest results will let them further develop the device and procedure.
via io9
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Steven Hodson Steven has been around the tech world long enough to see most of the stuff we think of cool happen before which leads to a certain bit of cynicism that has contributed to him being known as the cranky old fart of the Internet. Besides sharing some of the goodness that he finds with you here at 42x you can also find him curating some digital goodness at Winextra (tech type stuff) and Rotten Gumdrops (for your daily dose of WTF).
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