An artificial pancreas for 3 diabetic patients: a first in France



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The life of Isabelle, Bruno and Roger changed in early November when they were equipped with an artificial pancreas. This medical revolution is the first in France, carried out by the endocrinology department of the Perpignan hospital. Until then, the only patients to benefit from this device were participating in clinical trials. It is a small outer box that automatically delivers insulin to the diabetic patient.

For now, this device is only suitable for patients with type 1. This disease is characterized by a high level of sugar – or glucose – in the blood, hyperglycemia. It is caused by a deficiency in insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas and which regulates blood sugar levels. Because the pancreas of these patients is dysfunctional, it no longer produces enough insulin and the sugar level is therefore abnormally high. This type of diabetes cannot be cured, but patients can live with it with daily exogenous insulin intake. Hence the interest in this artificial pancreas.

An artificial pancreas that calculates the sugar level and the dose of insulin to be delivered

The advantage of this device is that it automatically calculates the insulin dose needed by the patient in real time. In fact, it is the glucose sensor, installed on the skin, that will continuously measure the patient’s glucose level. It will then transmit this information to the intelligent artificial pancreas pump, using a Bluetooth system. The box will then calculate by itself the dose of insulin to be given to the patient to maintain a good blood sugar level. People with diabetes no longer need to measure their blood sugar and determine how much insulin to administer – the device does it all! Its only task is, during meals, to indicate the food ingested by indicating the amount of carbohydrates they contain. This artificial pancreas therefore reduces the mental load on patients, improves their quality of life and, above all, allows a much better glycemic balance because it is estimated and supplied with insulin in real time.

The artificial pancreas could be commercialized in 2021

Aside from clinical trials, this is the first time such a process has been used on patients. Currently, the devices offered to diabetics require a lot of effort: measuring their blood sugar level and determining the dose of insulin to deliver. Although the patients are very strict, many of them still suffer from very strong variations in their sugar level, accompanied by hyper or hypoglycemia. For the time being, this artificial pancreas is still under approval by the High Authority for Health. If validated, it should be offered to the general public starting next year.

https://www.pourquoidocteur.fr/MaladiesPkoidoc/283-Le-diabete-de-type-1-une-maladie-de-plus-en-plus-frequente

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