Abstract

LONG AWAITED ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS: STILL ‘JUST AROUND THE CORNER’ OR ‘ALREADY HOME’? – AN OVERVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS

*Ranjana Ajit Sahasrabudhe

ABSTRACT

Alarming increase in Diabetes the world over has prompted extensive research developments. Insulin, the lifeline for Type I diabetes patients and also required by many Type 2 diabetes patients, is a prominent focus for development. Diabetes patients are taught to take insulin injections themselves. Doses of insulin also need to be tailored with almost every dose. Hence management of diabetes necessitates tremendous amount of knowledgeable patient involvement for adherence to recommended dietary and other routine as well as monitoring of blood glucose. Requirement of injections is a major deterrent against insulin for Type 2 diabetes patients. Type 1 patients too are waiting for the day when they can stop pricking themselves for injections as well as for monitoring blood glucose. Artificial Pancreas, being heralded since a long time as being just around the corner, is the eagerly awaited solution. This article unfolds the exciting developments in this field, including the development of components like Insulin Pumps, Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems, Algorithms to communicate between the two and the newer faster acting Insulins required to make this dream feasible. It also highlights the unique component of the developments, the ‗for the patients, by the patients‘ movement called ‗We Are Not Waiting‘, which is an exemplary collaborative effort between diverse people with a common cause close to their hearts, making apt use of the contemporary technology and amazing communication facilities available; where patients are shaping the future of diabetes treatment, developing and readily sharing the technology across the globe free of cost.

Keywords: CSII, CGM, Communication algorithms, Open Aps, We Are Not Waiting, Night Scout.