| Artificial Pancreas for Children |
| Saturday, 10 February 2007 | |
|
Cambridge scientists report that the development of an artificial pancreas for children with Type 1 diabetes is underway. Type 1 diabetes destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, the hormone needed to control sugar levels in the blood. Diabetics must manually test their blood sugar level and give themselves an insulin injection up to six times a day. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has provided £500,000 to support research led by Dr Roman Hovorka in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Cambridge. His team is working on an accurate, automated and painless solution. The artificial pancreas will measure blood sugar level on a minute-to-minute basis via glucose monitors. The signal will be transmitted wirelessly to a hand-held computer that calculates the amount of insulin needed and delivers it with an insulin pump. The device will be trialled on diabetic children from January. If successful, this device will considerably improve their lives. It may also significantly reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia, a complication associated with low blood sugar levels that in extreme cases can lead to coma. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
News Archives
| News Archives |
