Health Matters: Bionic Pancreas

Type 1 diabetics may soon have a new way to control their diabetes. It is called at bionic pancreas and it may be a reliable way to control blood sugar and administer hormones, like insulin. Researchers studied more than fifty people with Type 1 Diabetes over a five day period. Some used traditional methods to monitor blood sugar levels and others used the bionic pancreas. Results show people using the bionic pancreas had improved blood sugar levels and fewer low blood sugar episodes. The device was able to get the blood sugar from the sensor and feedback the information on how much insulin or glucagon needed to be delivered to the patient's back, so this was an interesting closed loop system in a way. Cleveland Clinic Doctor Betul Hatipoglu (HOT-TEA-POH-LOU) did not take part in the study but treats diabetes at the Cleveland Clinic. He says before the bionic pancreas can hit the market, it needs more research. It will open a new hope for our patients and hopefully will have more information to come, maybe studies done in a longer period of time, in a larger population, to see if this can be implemented in a normal clinical practice.