A four-year-old Perth boy has become the first patient in the world to be fitted with an artificial pancreas.
Xavier Hames suffers from type 1 diabetes and is at constant risk of hypoglycaemia – when low glucose levels can result in seizures, coma or death.
But in a world-first, a pancreas-like pump that can identify when sugar levels are dangerously low and halt the release of insulin, has changed that.
dv said:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-21/perth-boy-becomes-first-patient-fitted-with-artifical-pancreas/6032388:A four-year-old Perth boy has become the first patient in the world to be fitted with an artificial pancreas.
Xavier Hames suffers from type 1 diabetes and is at constant risk of hypoglycaemia – when low glucose levels can result in seizures, coma or death.
But in a world-first, a pancreas-like pump that can identify when sugar levels are dangerously low and halt the release of insulin, has changed that.
mine sort of has the ability to do that, I can get a sensor that makes it beep when my BGL goes outside a certain range, but I still have to confirm the adjustment of insulin needed.
The sensor however needs to be changed every 3 days and costs $75 each time, so it’s financially not viable
Why does the sensor need replacing so often? Does it get clogged with gunk or something?
Divine Angel said:
Why does the sensor need replacing so often? Does it get clogged with gunk or something?
it’s sub-cut, the body naturally seals around it and tries to eject it.
Dunno how they got around that for the new one mentioned though
stumpy_seahorse said:
Divine Angel said:
Why does the sensor need replacing so often? Does it get clogged with gunk or something?
it’s sub-cut, the body naturally seals around it and tries to eject it.
Dunno how they got around that for the new one mentioned though
Wikipedia hasn’t caught up to the new news yet, but this is what they say about the artificial pancreas bioengineering
A biological approach to the artificial pancreas is to implant bioengineered tissue containing islet cells, which would secrete the amount of insulin, amylin, and glucagon needed in response to sensed glucose.
When islet cells have been transplanted via the Edmonton protocol, insulin production (and glycemic control) was restored at the expense of immunosuppression. Encapsulation of the islet cells in a protective coating has been developed to block the immune response to transplanted cells, which relieves the burden of immunosuppression and benefits the longevity of the transplant.
One concept of the bio-artificial pancreas uses encapsulated islet cells to build an islet sheet which can be surgically implanted to function as an artificial pancreas.
This islet sheet design consists of:
an inner mesh of fibers to provide strength for the islet sheet;
islet cells, encapsulated to avoid triggering a proliferating immune response, adhered to the mesh fibers;
a semi-permeable protective layer around the sheet, to allow the diffusion of nutrients and secreted hormones;
a protective coating, to prevent a foreign body response resulting in a fibrotic reaction which walls off the sheet and causes failure of the islet cells.
Islet sheet research is pressing forward with large animal studies at the present, with plans for human clinical trials within a few years.