Artificial pancreas approved for outpatient testing in US

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have developed an artificial pancreas that could lead to automatic care for patients with Type 1 diabetes and has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a key testing phase. The device monitors blood sugar and provides insulin as needed. It is hand-held and was created by reconfiguring a smart phone. Participants in an outpatient clinic in Europe maintained safe blood sugar levels while using the device spending a night outside the hospital. “Conducting the first US tests of a portable artificial pancreas running on a cell phone in a real-world setting is an important step toward evaluating its effectiveness and how it may impact treatment for Type 1 diabetes patients in the United States,” Boris Kovatchev, who led the research team that created the device, said.