Progress Continues Toward Artificial Pancreas Goal Is Automated
Monitoring of Blood Sugar, Delivery of Insulin June 12, 2012
(Philadelphia) -- Efforts to make an artificial pancreas for
people with type 1 diabetes have taken another step forward,
with two new studies showing progress toward that goal. Both
studies, presented here at the American Diabetes Association's
annual meeting, were small, and more work is needed before an
artificial pancreas is ready. For more than three decades,
researchers have been trying to develop an artificial pancreas.
But as is often the case, progress in science is measured in
baby steps, not leaps. So while preliminary, the studies
presented offer renewed hope that an artificial pancreas could
become a reality within five to 10 years, experts tell WebMD.
Goal: Artificial Pancreas Though its name may conjure up images
of a manmade organ being grown in a sterile "CSI"-type lab, the
artificial pancreas is actually an automated system consisting
of a continuous glucose monitor, a