The device can eliminate the need for type 1 diabetes patients to perform a glucose measurement test, prevent blood sugar values from falling to dangerous levels and hypoglycemic attacks.
Type 1 diabetes is a serious disease that carries a risk of death. In patients, the pancreas cannot produce the hormone insulin, which controls the level of sugar in the blood. The disease can cause permanent damage to the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves.
The artificial pancreas device, which consists of a sensor placed under the skin and a pump that delivers insulin, mimics the function of the real pancreas. The sensor constantly monitors the blood glucose values in the body and sends this data to the smart device.
The automatic pump, which is also under the skin, balances the insulin values when the blood sugar in the body drops.
The UK government, the National Health Service (NHS), says this is the first time this technology has been tested nationwide and could change the lives of people with diabetes.
One of the more than 200 children in the study is 6-year-old Charlotte.
Charlotte is one of those kids who has to puncture her fingertips every day to measure and balance her blood levels.
Explaining that the disease affects the whole family, Charlotte’s mother, Ange Abbot, talks about the life-changing effects of the artificial pancreas device.
Abbot said, “Before using the artificial device, we had to set an alarm every night at two-hour intervals, measure Charlotte’s blood values with a fingertip test and make insulin balances when necessary. Now the device constantly monitors the sugar values so that Charlotte can spend time outside like a normal child again. He can meet up with his friends.”
Yasmin Hopkins, 27, who lives in London, is one of those who tried the artificial pancreas as part of the study.
Hopkins, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 15 years ago, says that new technology has liberated him.
“Now I can have a normal day without worry, I can work, I can take my dog for a walk,” Hopkins says.
“Devices that track and treat diabetes patients sound like science fiction, but such technologies are now a very important part of our lives,” says Professor Partha Kar, diabetes specialist at the NHS.
“We are not far from a fully automated system that will allow people with diabetes to live their lives without any worries.”
Chris Askew, CEO of Diabetes UK, known as one of the leading diabetes charities in the UK, says the technology has the potential to improve both the quality of life and clinical outcomes of people with type 1 diabetes.
To date, 875 patients have participated in the pilot application, which can enroll up to a thousand people.
Officials will use the results as part of an assessment of where to make the technology more widespread.
The results will be part of an assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which is considering where to make the technology more pervasive.