The Artificial Pancreas

I’m not ashamed to say (not too much anytway) that I was welling up at work today.

All this week they have had short features about diabetes on the BBC Radio 4 lunchtime show You and Yours, and today they had Karen Addington CEO of the JDRF as one of their guest contributers.

Amongst other things, she mentioned the latest status on the Artificial Pancreas (AP). Essentially, this is a connected Insulin Pump and Continuous Glucose Monitor. Samuel has both of these already. Currently they work independantly but with a brain linking the two, you’ve got an artificial pancreas.

According to Karen Addington, the research project into this has reached the clinical trial stage. And at one point, this involved a test patient in Paris going out of hospital for the first time, wearing the AP. Not only going out, but visiting a restuarant for a meal and staying out overnight. On return to hospital the next day, they’d had perfectly maintained blood glucose levels throughout!

Fantastic!

This was the point where I was choking up!! Take the Artifical Pancreas out for dinner!!

Too right – I’d buy it a drink or three as well.

Her estimate was that this would be with us in three to five years! That is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone publically put a timescale of less than 10 years on this….

I’m saving up already!!!

If you want to listen to it, the program is at this link and the interview with Karen starts at about 31 minutes in.