Artificial pancreas will control blood sugar in Type 1 diabetics

The joint lab is said to build on Leti and Diabeloop’s earlier three-year research project that included clinical trials in hospitals and demonstrated the promise of a closed-loop system for treating diabetes.

The artificial pancreas, designed to automatically deliver the appropriate dose of insulin to patients, includes a sensor that measures patients’ glucose levels, a pump that delivers insulin, and a smartphone with an embedded algorithm and patient interface that links the sensor and the pump. It also includes telemedicine capabilities for monitoring patients and linking them with health-care providers and dedicated nurses.

“The Diabeloop system can fundamentally improve everyday life of diabetes patients,” said Erik Huneker, CEO of Diabeloop. “It will allow better control of their blood sugar and result in a strong reduction in hypoglycemic events and associated comas, as well as a decrease in diabetes-related complications, such as ocular and renal complications and amputations.”

Leti will further develop the system’s regulation algorithm that takes into account the patients’ carbohydrate intake, glycemia, physical-activity and emotional-state history. The system predicts at any time how a change of insulin dosage will impact patient glycaemia levels in the next few hours and computes the optimal dose, especially at mealtime.