Device could pave way for new diabetes treatment

Implantable devices that release insulin into the body could provide an alternative diabetes treatment to insulin injections or cannula insertions. However, an obstacle that has prevented their use is that the immune system attacks them after implantation, forming a thick layer of scar tissue that blocks insulin release.

This phenomenon, known as the foreign body response, can also interfere with many other types of implantable medical devices. The team at MIT has now devised a way to overcome this response.

In a study of mice, researchers showed that when they incorporated mechanical actuation into a soft robotic device, the device remained functional for much longer than a typical drug-delivery implant. 

The device is repeatedly inflated and deflated for five minutes every 12 hours, and this mechanical deflection prevents immune cells from accumulating around the device, researchers found.

“We’re using this type of motion to extend the lifetime and the efficacy of these implanted reservoirs that can deliver drugs like insulin, and we think this platform can be extended beyond this application,” said Ellen Roche, the Latham Family Career Development associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.