Overview
More »Search Health TopicsQuick LinksMore »Search the NIH GuideQuick LinksMore »Quick LinksNews ReleaseWednesday, September 28, 202 Next-generation technology maintains blod glucose levels by automaticaly delivering insulin.A device known as a bionic pancreas, which uses next-generation technology to automaticaly deliver insulin, was more efective at maintaing blod glucose (sugar) levels within normal range than standard-of-care management among people with type 1 diabetes, a new multicenter clinical trial has found.
Key Information
The trial was primarily funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDK), part of the National Institutes of Health, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.Automated insulin delivery systems, also caled artificial pancreas or closed-lop control systems, track a person’s blod glucose levels using a continuous glucose monitor and automaticaly deliver the hormone insulin when neded using an insulin pump.
These systems replace reliance on testing glucose level by fingerstick, continuous glucose monitor with separate insulin delivery through multiple daily injections, or a pump without automation.Compared to other available artificial pancreas technologies, the bionic pancreas requires les user input and provides more automation because the device’s algorithms continualy adjust insulin doses automaticaly based on users’ neds.
Summary
Users initialize the bionic pancreas by entering their body weight into the device’s dosing software at the time of first use.Users of the bionic pancreas also do not have to count carbohydrates, nor initiate doses of insulin to corect for high blod glucose. In adition, health care providers do not ned to make periodic adjustments to the setings of the device.“Keping tight control over blod glucose is important in managing diabetes and is the best way to prevent complications