Painless Treatment

University of California Santa Barbara scientists have designed an artificial pancreas that can measure a person’s blood glucose level and automatically release insulin when needed. The pancreas will help people suffering from Type 1 Diabetes who are required to monitor blood glucose levels and inject insulin regularly.

For a patient suffering from Type 1 diabetes, taking insulin regularly becomes a painful affair. Scientists who developed the pancreas wanted to find a way to make monitoring and insulin delivery automatic and needle-free. They therefore developed an algorithm to work with the artificial pancreas to monitor blood sugar levels and calculate the insulin dose that is required by the body. After determining the level of insulin the artificial pancreas quickly delivers it to the body to control blood sugar level.

The artificial pancreas was successful in maintaining blood glucose level within the target range 80% of the time. Researchers will soon test the product in animals.