The balance between sugar and insulin is a perpetual challenge in diabetes. It quickly becomes too much or too little. An artificial pancreas will ensure proper blood glucose levels around the clock.
Insulin from the pancreas ensures that your body always has the right amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood. Patients with type 1 diabetes lack this ability to regulate their sugar levels and are dependent on insulin injections many times a day.
The first artificial pancreas that is about to come on the market, has limited effect. It consists of a sensor under the skin that measures sugar level, and a pump outside the body that infuses insulin under the skin. However, such a device is not able to compensate for rapid changes in blood sugar, such as after a meal or strenuous exercise, leaving the patient with either too low or high glucose level.
Scientists in Trondheim work on a completely new way to control glucose levels. They will measure the glucose level inside the abdominal cavity and deliver insulin to the same place. The insulin pump and insulin are placed in a small device on the outside. From this device, an optical fibre for glucose sensing and a thin tube for insulin delivery goes through a small port in the abdominal wall. The port will have a connection that allows for removal of the device whenever needed, for example if the patient wants to go swimming.
The goal is to create a device that mimics the way a healthy body controls blood sugar level, so that the patient does not need to think about diabetes even when he or she is eating or exercising.
This ambitious project involves researchers in medicine, cybernetics, biosensor technology, electronics, product development and materials technology, as well as industry.
The project is led by the research group Artificial Pancreas Trondheim (APT) at NTNU, with St. Olav's Hospital as a research partner and Prediktor Medical AS as an industrial partner.
