The March issue of Diabetic Forecast Magazine has an article on Testing being performed on the latest "Artificial Pancreas". The article is on page 38 and is written by Erika Gebel Berg, PhD. I describes testing and a very exciting new type of device. It consists of a CGM Monitor sensor, a smartphone, and double insulin pump. The double pump is really interesting in that it has one pump for insulin and one for a substance called glucagon. It counteracts the insulin to level the Blood Glucose. It is a great article and we may see results in 3 to 5 years. It is really great.
yes here is the article that Dondi is mentioning.
Keeping fingers crossed that this technology will be on the market by the time my five year old hits her teenage years.
If you need some hope and encouragement today, more articles including daily blogs from hospital and university campus clinical trial participants and quotes from the juvenile campers from the Joslin and Clara Barton Diabetes Camps last Summer are on the "Media" tab on the www.artificialpancreas.org website.
This process is being driven hard by a researcher whose son was diagnosed with Type 1 at 15 months. He wants to have a pump that will not only control high blood sugar but also low blood sugar, especially overnight, so he does not have to worry about his son's nighttime blood sugar when he sends him off to college in 42 months. He has made this his life's work the past 15 years.
In addition to pumping insulin, it also pumps glucagon (the substance in your emergency kit for an unconscious low) in small amounts to keep your blood sugar at the preset number. Participants were able to keep a constant blood glucose number (one participant averaged 104 even though he had hot fudge sundaes and white rice with his Chinese food in an attempt to cause the pump to fail) no matter what they ate and what activity they were doing - just like a normal person - without thinking, calculating and praying! Some cried when they had to give up the freedom of the new pump after the trial.
The next 2014 trial will involve hospital staff across the country that are Type 1 wearing the pump for 12 days during their normal routines - eating, sleeping and working. (There have been many trials over the last several years where participants slept at the hospital with observers, lived at the hospital, were restricted to one block of the university, etc.) This Summer the summer camp studies hope to be expanded to include more campers.
I know money is tight when you have a diabetes child but if I have any left, this is where it is going. JDRF is also involved in funding the trials (along with many others) but I don't know if you can earmark your money for this specific trial.
It's such an amazing time. I've been a diabetic for 48 years now. All the treatments that you could only imagine or never even thought of happening are actually either coming to fruition or on the verge.
Does anybody know if Omnipod is involved with AP development, or is the technology only going to use a pump with tubing?
I hope government and insurance company’s keep up or all this technology won’t matter unless your more than financially sound. Most insurance company’s today or at least the ones I know about only allow you to claim standard insulin pumps. No cgms etc…
that sounds awesome, thanks for sharing!
Tandem Diabetes Care manufactures the t:slim insulin pumps which are being used in the trials. Tandem Diabetes is in the process of developing a dual chambered pump to hold insulin and glucagon. I think these are tubed pumps.
That is what it seems to be. It is a shame that Omnipod hasn't tried something like this. I do think a big deterrent is the Glucagon which must be mixed daily and has only a 1 day shelf life according to the article. It did say that they are working on some with a 3 day shelf life. Maybe someday it will be available. We can all Hope So can't we?