New technology to deliver insulin

[littlevoice359]

This article popped up in my Reddit feed this morning. I thought it might be of interest.

Generating power with blood sugar

ethz.ch

 

[rebrascora]

Wow!!! I like that idea a lot! Obviously there are a lot of hurdles to overcome but a really clever concept.

 

[JJay]

Interesting concept.

As an aside, I would query the assertion that insulin delivery is "mostly done via insulin pumps that are attached directly to the body"

Does anyone know what proportion of T1s are using pumps as opposed to MDI or other injection regimes?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Does anyone know what proportion of T1s are using pumps as opposed to MDI or other injection regimes?

Last I heard it was 21%. But in the US it's more like 60%, I think. I don't know about other comparable countries.

 

[littlevoice359]

My first thought when reading the article is that it might provide a more accurate type of CGM - one that could measure blood glucose in real time as opposed to inferring a blood glucose measurement from properties of interstitial fluid. I will keep an eye on this concept for that reason.

 

[rebrascora]

I am seeing this as an eventual stand alone system with the lab developed beta cells forming an artificial pancreas rather than just being a pump "add on" to power it. Maybe even being able to have a socket that we can charge our own mobile phone off our surplus glucose to get rid of it or charge our Libre reader.

 

[42istheanswer]

I am seeing this as an eventual stand alone system with the lab developed beta cells forming an artificial pancreas rather than just being a pump "add on" to power it. Maybe even being able to have a socket that we can charge our own mobile phone off our surplus glucose to get rid of it or charge our Libre reader.

Yes, it does sound like an actual artificial pancreas in terms of insulin to me. It would be very interesting if they did succeed in making it usable for humans. Though I do wonder how long each one would last