The process of blood glucose control could improve dramatically with a bionic pancreas, according to a new study. Currently, people with type 1 diabetes maintain a constant vigil because their pancreas doesn't make the hormone insulin and so they need to manually insure that blood glucose levels don't get dangerously high and low. Several times a day they must use fingerstick tests to monitor their blood glucose levels and manually take insulin by injection or from a pump. 

People who used a bionic pancreas instead of a pump were more likely to have blood glucose levels consistently within the normal range, with fewer dangerous lows or highs, say Boston University and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers.



"The bionic pancreas system reduced the average blood glucose to levels that have been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of diabetic complications," said co-first author Steven Russell, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. "This is tremendously difficult with currently available technology, and so most people with diabetes are unable to achieve these levels."


From right, researcher Dr. Steven Russell of Massachusetts General Hospital stands with Frank Spesia and Colby Clarizia, two participants in a type 1 diabetes trial testing an electronic device called a bionic pancreas -- the cellphone-sized device shown -- which replaces their traditional fingerstick tests and manual insulin pumps. Photo courtesy of Adam Brown,

"The performance of our system in both adults and adolescents exceeded our expectations under very challenging real-world conditions," said Ed Damiano, Ph.D., the paper's senior author, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University and the parent of a son with type 1 diabetes.

"A cure is always the end goal," he said. "As that goal remains elusive, a truly automated technology, which can consistently and relentlessly keep people healthy and safe from harm of hypoglycemia, would lift an enormous emotional and practical burden from the shoulders of people with type 1 diabetes, including my child and so many others."


"With promising results such as these, we plan to support larger multicenter trials of the artificial pancreas in the near future," said Guillermo Arreaza-Rubín, M.D., the project officer for artificial pancreas studies funded by the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). "Within the next few years, we hope these technologies will go beyond experimental trials and be available to benefit more people with type 1 diabetes."

"The landmark Diabetes Control and Complications study  has long shown that maintaining as normal a blood glucose level as possible early on can stave off complications, including heart, kidney and eye diseases, decades later," said NIDDK Director Griffin P. Rodgers, M.D. "By funding research on the artificial pancreas, we aim to help people with type 1 diabetes maintain healthy blood glucose levels, prevent painful and costly complications, and lead freer, healthier lives."

Citation: Steven J. Russell, M.D., Ph.D., Firas H. El-Khatib, Ph.D., Manasi Sinha, M.D., M.P.H., Kendra L. Magyar, M.S.N., N.P., Katherine McKeon, M.Eng., Laura G. Goergen, B.S.N., R.N., Courtney Balliro, B.S.N, R.N., Mallory A. Hillard, B.S., David M. Nathan, M.D., and Edward R. Damiano, Ph.D., 'Outpatient Glycemic Control with a Bionic Pancreas in Type 1 Diabetes', June 15, 2014. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1314474. Source: NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases