Gadget the size of an iPhone that controls diabetes
AN iPhone- sized device which allows diabetes sufferers to lead ‘normal lives’ could be available within two years.
Scientists have developed a gadget which monitors patients’ blood sugar levels and automatically delivers the right amount of insulin.
The device behaves like an artificial pancreas – the organ that produces insulin to regulate blood sugar. It could prove a lifeline for around 350,000 Britons who suffer from Type 1 diabetes – a lifelong condition in which the pancreas stops making the hormone.
The gadget – developed at Cambridge University – attaches to the wearer’s clothing, from where it monitors glucose levels and provides insulin when required through patches on the skin.
Currently, patients must inject themselves with insulin up to five times a day to avoid serious complications. But the amount required fluctuates every day depending on their diet and activity levels, meaning they must monitor their blood sugar with finger prick tests every few hours.
The device could also benefit tens of thousands of patients with severe Type 2 diabetes. Around 3.1million Britons have Type 2 – which is linked to obesity – of which 14 per cent suffer from a severe form requiring insulin injections.
Because of rising obesity levels, it is estimated that around five million Britons will have diabetes by 2025 – the majority being diagnosed with Type 2.
Scientists found a way to combine two existing devices – pumps which deliver insulin and glucose monitors – into one conveniently-sized box.
Writing in the journal Diabetologia, researchers Dr Roman Hovorka and Dr Hood Thabit said: ‘Type 1 diabetes carries a significant psychosocial burden and adversely impacts quality of life.
‘In trials to date, users have been positive about how use of an artificial pancreas gives them “time off” or a “holiday” from their diabetes management, since the system is managing their blood sugar effectively with- out the need for constant monitoring by the user.’
They compared the results of studies looking at how adults and children fared while using the devices, both in carefully monitored residential trials and when living normally at home.
They found the artificial pancreas was not only successful in managing the condition, but also reduced the amount of time patients spent with abnormal blood sugar levels compared to their usual self-management technique.
In the longest study to date, patients used the device day and night at home for three months. The group improved the amount of time their blood glucose levels were in the target range by 11 percentage points. Dr Hovorka said the gadget could be made available to patients as soon as it is approved by regulators – which could be as early as 2017 in the US and the end of 2018 in Britain and the rest of Europe. Scientists are also continuing to improve the product – including factoring in cyber-security so it cannot be hacked.
The device could eventually eliminate the need for some diabetes patients to undergo pancreas transplants.
Dr Elizabeth Robertson, director of research at the charity Diabetes UK, said: ‘The artificial pancreas has the potential to transform lives, particularly for people who find it difficult to maintain good control of their blood glucose levels.
‘We’re very pleased to see this area of research moving at a fast pace, but there are still hurdles to overcome in making the technology as effective and reliable as possible.’
‘Potential to transform lives’