Artificial Pancreas for Type 1 Diabetes a 'Complete Game Changer,' Says Diabetics

Scientists have developed a next-generation insulin pump that has shown significant promise to managing Type 1 diabetes. The pump, dubbed by many as the "bionic pancreas," is a device that is able to mimic the function of the body's natural pancreas, the part of the body that stabilizes blood sugar.

The results of the two clinical trials were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reported during Sunday's American Diabetes Association Meeting held in San Francisco.

According to the researchers from  Boston University (BU) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in its conclusion, "A wearable, automated bihormonal bionic pancreas improved glycemia without increasing hypoglycemia in a multiday outpatient study in a diabetes camp."

Ed Damiano, associate professor of biomedical engineering at BU has a son diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, writes ABC News. As a biomedical engineer, he developed the "bionic pancreas" to perform the blood sugar regulation functions that someone with Type 1 diabetes cannot do.

The device "uses iPhone app that lets patients enter information immediately prior to eating. Every five minutes the app receives a blood sugar reading from an attached continuous glucose monitor, which it uses to calculate and administer a dose of either insulin or glucagon," writes Healthline.com.

Patients diagnosed with type 1 diabetes have body systems that are unable to naturally produce insulin, the hormone that converts sugar, starches, and other food into energy needed for daily life. The American Diabetes Association estimates that about one million Americans have Type 1 diabetes which is developed in childhood. There is another more common type of the condition, Type 2 diabetes. While no exact cause has been determined, it is developed throughout life and has been associated with sedentary lifestyle, excess weight and unhealthy habits. 

"The emotional response [of the participants] was something we could never have anticipated," quotes ABC News of Damiano after his presentation. "They embraced it and they saw it as a complete game changer."

The bionic pancreas automatically manages a person's blood sugar and adapts as it gets to know its user.

There are a number of other teams working on similar projects but the work of Damiano is the most progressive and advanced to date. Damiano hopes to receive FDA approval before his son heads off for college in three years.

David, Ed's son, has full confidence in his father's technology. "My whole life I've just known - just had this knowledge that my dad is going to have this bionic pancreas out when I go to college," David says, according to NPR.com. "I'm confident in him. He works really hard - really hard."

The next stage of the research involves 40 adults using the system for a period of 11 days.