The National Health Service (NHS) of England has provided a life-changing artificial pancreas to nearly 1,000 patients with type 1 diabetes as part of a national trial that looks into the benefits of a hybrid closed-loop system. The technology continuously monitors the blood sugar level and automatically adjusts the amount of insulin needed to be administered via a pump.
Around 35 NHS diabetes centers across England are included in the revolutionary trial of the artificial pancreas before it can be distributed to patients nationally.
A woman wears a prototype of a Defymed bio-artificial pancreas (BAP) on her belly at the European Center for the Study of Diabetes (CEED) on July 3, 2014 in Strasbourg, eastern France. The bio-artificial pancreas will carry insulin secretory cells or islets from human or animal origins in order to physiologically respond to the patients body needs in terms of insulin, allowing patients to be autonomous in the treatment of their diabetes.
Artificial Pancreas Reduce Reliance on Typical Prick Tests and Insulin Injections
The new technology is being tested on type 1 diabetes patients to reduce their reliance on constant finger prick tests and insulin injections, IFL Science reported
The artificial pancreas also comes with an under-the-skin sensor that is connected to an insulin pump that injects insulin when blood sugar levels drop below normal. Everything can be monitored using a mobile application where patients can see their blood sugar levels.
Through this, patients will no longer need to constantly check their glucose levels as the technology will do it for them, making it a safer solution. For instance, Ange Abbott, who has a six-year-old diabetic daughter, told BBC that everything was manual before the artificial pancreas.
"At night we'd have to set the alarm every two hours to do finger pricks and corrections of insulin to deal with the ups and downs of Charlotte's blood sugars," Abbott said.
Professor Partha Kar, the NHS national specialty advisor for diabetes, described the device as "quite sci-fi-like" that could prevent life-threatening hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.
The large-scale trial will tell whether the device effectively manages the blood sugar levels of type 1 diabetes. Professor Kar pointed out that people live with technology every day, so using machines for diabetes is not very far away from the holy grail of a fully automated system where type 1 diabetes patients can normally live without worrying about their medication.
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Type 1 vs. Type 2 Diabetes
Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are both serious health conditions that describe high blood sugar levels, which could lead to serious health complications.
According to Diabetes UK, the main difference between the two is that type 1 is a genetic condition that often starts early in life because the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Meanwhile, type 2 is lifestyle-related and develops over time in which the pancreas no longer makes enough insulin or has stopped working properly.
Ethnicity and weight are some common factors for type 2 since it is a lifestyle-related disease, but there is currently no known cause of type 1 diabetes. More so, symptoms for type 2 are sometimes easier to miss because they appear slowly, unlike in type 1, which appear more quickly.
In terms of management, type 1 is managed by taking insulin to control blood sugar. But type 2 has more ways, like medication, exercise, and diet. However, some type 2 diabetes cases may also be prescribed insulin.
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