Artificial Pancreas Helps People With Diabetes

http://engineering.ucsb.edu/news/619

by denzil_correa • 14 years ago

21 35 14 years ago

engineering.ucsb.edu

dmix• 14 years ago

Helps people with Type 1 diabetes which is about 3-5% of all people who have diabetes (Type 2 accounts for 90%) Although Type 1 is significantly more serious.

Shebanator2• 14 years ago

Its true that there are far more Type 2 diabetics than Type 1. But there are still 3 million Type 1 diabetics, and there are many Type 2 diabetics who still use insulin pumps and who thus could benefit from such a device.

ta12121• 14 years ago

Yeah, but Type 1 is much harder to treat.

Shebanator2• 14 years ago

Funny thing: this UCSD page has an embedded video that played me an ad for KY Touch. Too bad UCSD isn't getting the money from that ad - could be a whole new way to solve the funding problem.

officialchicken5• 14 years ago

So, where do I sign up to beta test?

herbivore5• 14 years ago

Man the shit they come up with. A plant based diet helps and in many cases reverses diabetes, but if it's not laden with chemicals or some freak surgery people don't take it seriously. This is some sad world we live in.

officialchicken5• 14 years ago

A diet can not help the people who need this.

mike_organon5• 14 years ago

It's a disorder of glucose regulation, so minimizing carbs and maximizing fat (because protein also leads to glucose), can help a lot. Eat more animals and vegetables, less grains.

awolf4• 14 years ago

First: this is a treatment for type 1 diabetes. There is no reversing type 1 diabetes.

Second: a _low carb_ diet helps type 1 and 2 diabetes and in many cases reverses type 2 diabetes. It has nothing to do with being "plant based". The greatest improvement in my control of my type 1 diabetes came when I eliminated grains, a type of plant, from my diet.

So, I directly disagree: A meat based, grain free, low carb diet is the single best prescription for anyone with any form of diabetes.

mike_organon5• 14 years ago

I agree. I went Paleo 2 years ago and it made blood sugar much easier to manage.

AlisdairO4• 14 years ago

My wife is a type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes is a disorder not caused by diet or by any particular moral failing you might imagine, and people with it are the primary target of a device like this.

Your ignorance is insulting to millions of people who suffer due to diabetes. Please educate yourself rather than spouting nonsense.

Mz7• 14 years ago

Hey, do you happen to have any links you would recommend explaining the difference? I have been keeping my mouth shut out of respect for the fact that a closed mouth gathers no feet. I am at high risk for CFRD -- cystic fibrosis related diabetes -- which is neither type 1 nor type 2, or so I understand. I have reversed a lot of my symptoms, something doctors say cannot be done. Trying to better understand the topic.

Thanks.

herbivore5• 14 years ago

You are wrong. Has your wife ever tried a plant based diet, or is it just more convenient to believe your mainstream doctor? I guess the latter.

Zimahl• 14 years ago

As the husband of a type 1 diabetic, this isn't anything new. The only difference between this and something I've seen a half-decade ago is that it's wireless communication between the pump and the sensor.

Maybe the software is a little better, maybe the sensors are a little smaller, but this isn't a step forward, it's just a step to the side. You still will have to poke yourself with 2 needles (one for the sensor, one for the injector), just not as often. You'll also have to wear this. Call it vanity but my wife would like to wear a shirt without some weird lump under it. A swimsuit might be right out.

Pumps are also prohibitively expensive, even with insurance. We're talking about $8k for the pump itself and the about $500 per month for supplies (for current models). Insurance usually covers about 20% of the pump cost but it will probably have to be replaced every 5 years.

There are more interesting things on the horizon like implanted glucose monitors[1][2]. Since diabetics eventually get used to the needles, they typically need a better way to know when they might need more insulin (or in some cases sugar).

[1] http://www.s4ms.com/products_glucose.htm [2] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100728144347.ht...

Artificial Pancreas Helps People With Diabetes

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