Diabetes Patients Are Hacking Their Way Toward a Bionic Pancreas

[Northerner]

When 4-year-old Evan Costik was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, his father began sleeping on the floor beside his bed. Every hour or two, John woke up to test the preschooler’s blood-sugar level by pricking his finger and squeezing a drop of blood onto a test strip he’d slipped into a meter. A level between 80 and 120 milligrams per deciliter was good. Below that, bad. Potentially very very bad. One night, it was 36. Any lower and Evan could have fallen into a coma. He could have died.

Waking up every two hours to jab your kid’s finger is no fun, and after about six months, the Costiks switched over to something called a continuous glucose monitor. Now a tiny sensor implanted just under Evan’s skin sent numbers to a pager-like display every five minutes. His parents kept it next to their bed, and while they wished the alarm was a little louder, it sure beat sleeping on the floor.

http://www.wired.com/2014/12/diabetes-patients-hacking-together-diy-bionic-pancreases/

 

[trophywench]

Fascinating Northie!

I'm glad this has happened now in my life - since I'm incapable of using an Android phone properly - well I can use it to phone and test, but not as a computer! why use your phone when you have a PC and a lappy and can touch type on both their keyboards? - I'd have no chance with most of this.

At least they are still making machines capable of being operated by dinosaurs like me!

 

[KookyCat]

well I never! Best get my old system design books out, give me about five years to refresh my memory and I'll make use all a new pancreas from fimo, a straw, a safety pin and a pivot table . I'm pretty sure my soldering iron is still in the shed with my goggles and thermal gloves.

 

[trophywench]

If you need any spanners let me know .......

Pete has a GIANT one he used to have to use on his guillotine at work (he was a printer, the G weighed something like 1.5 tons - exceedingly old but did a fab job) so when he packed up, we kept the spanner, sprayed it with silver metallic paint and 'mounted' it in pride of place on the rafters of our garage at home as a souvenir !

 

[KookyCat]

Well a giant spanner is always useful 😉