Artificial pancreas can treat diabetes

Toronto: Compared to conventional diabetes treatment, an external artificial pancreas can improve glucose control and treatment of Type-1 diabetes, shows a study.

Type-1 diabetes, a chronic disease that can cause vision loss and cardiovascular diseases, results from the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, leading to increased blood and urine glucose.

An emerging technology to treat Type-1 diabetes, the external artificial pancreas is an automated system that simulates the normal pancreas by continuously adapting insulin delivery based on changes in glucose levels. Two configurations exist: The single-hormone artificial pancreas that delivers insulin alone and the dual-hormone artificial pancreas that delivers both insulin and glucagon.

While insulin lowers blood glucose levels, glucagon has the opposite effect and raises glucose levels.