Researchers led by Dr Steven Russell, assistant professor of medicine at [b]Massachusetts General Hospital[/b] have found that a portable artificial pancreas built with a modified [b]iPhone[/b] successfully regulated blood sugar levels in a trial with people who have Type-1 diabetes, reports [s]The New York Times[/s].
Currently about one-third of people with Type-1 diabetes rely on insulin pumps to regulate blood sugar, which eliminate the need for injections and can be programmed to mimic the natural release of insulin by dispensing small doses regularly. But, the report says, these pumps do not automatically adjust to the patient’s variable insulin needs, and they do not dispense glucagon. The new device dispenses both hormones, and it does so with little intervention from the patient, the report says.
[link url=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/us/artificial-pancreas-shows-promise-in-diabetes-test.html?emc=edit_th_20140616&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60640071]Full report in The New York Times[/link]
[link url=http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMoa1314474]NEJM article[/link]