emerging technologies, may 2010

Underway: A Global Effort to Develop the Artificial Pancreas

This spring, a consortium of European academic and industry partners announced a collaboration called AP@home. Much like JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project, AP@home aims to develop an artificial pancreas that would allow automated blood sugar control for people with type 1 diabetes.

An advanced artificial pancreas system - a device that uses continuous glucose monitor (CGM) data to automatically administer appropriate doses of insulin through a pump - could not only improve the quality of life for people with diabetes but also help to control their blood sugar levels, lowering their risk for complications.

"AP@home offers a tremendous opportunity to advance the development of artificial pancreas systems," said Aaron Kowalski, Ph.D., Director of JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project. "The collaboration between researchers in the European consortium and in JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project will create a global partnership that can dramatically improve the lives of people around the world living with diabetes."

A closer look
Like JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project, the AP@home consortium will bring together world-leading experts in the fields of medical device development, clinical studies, and the modeling of control algorithms - the computer programs that link insulin pumps with CGMs and calculate the dose of insulin to deliver. Thus far, AP@home includes seven academic partners and five industrial partners (Profil Institut für Stoffwechselforschung GmbH; Triteq Ltd; Sensile Medical AG; STMicroelectronics; and 4a engineering GmbH). The project is funded by a ¬10.5M grant from the European Commission.

In the first phase of AP@home, researchers will test currently available artificial pancreas algorithms with CGM systems and insulin pumps already on the market. This system will involve a "two-port" approach that requires two skin punctures to attach the glucose monitor and the insulin pump. In this stage, the aim will be to improve both the accuracy of the glucose sensors (a component of the CGM) and the safety and effectiveness of the algorithms.

In parallel, scientists will work to develop innovative artificial pancreas systems that combine an insulin pump and a CGM system in a single device - requiring only one access point through the skin.

During the final year of the four-year project, a multinational clinical trial will compare the performance of the newly created artificial pancreas system with standard intensive insulin therapy.