The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) have announced that they are working in partnership with insulin pump manufacturer and supplier Animas to develop an innovative new ‘artificial pancreas’ for people living with type 1 diabetes.
The new partnership aims to submit the system for regulatory approval in the next four years.
The artificial pancreas combines two existing technologies, insulin pumps and continuous glucose sensors.
The first generation artificial pancreas under development in the US aims to increase the time people with type 1 diabetes spend in their blood glucose level target range, thereby avoiding hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose levels) and hyperglycaemia (high blood glucose levels.
Hypoglycaemia will be limited by automatic shut off of insulin delivery from the pump and hyperglycaemia will be limited by the pump administering extra insulin, but not too much so that it makes blood glucose levels drop too low and trigger hypoglycaemia.
JDRF exists to find the cure for type 1 diabetes and its complications, and is the world's largest charitable
funder of type 1 diabetes research. JDRF in the UK, affiliated to JDRF International (based in the USA), was founded in 1986.
The charity will provide $8 million in funding over the next four years for this project.