The University of Virginia is developing an “artificial pancreas,” and is prepping to present early results from a nationwide clinical trial of the device on Friday.
The artificial pancreas uses an advanced computer algorithm to automatically monitor and regulate blood-sugar levels in people with Type 1 diabetes.
The goal of the device is to eliminate the need for patients to stick their fingers multiple times daily to check their blood-sugar levels, as well as, end the task of manually injecting insulin.
The trial is examining the algorithm’s use in a smartphone app that is connected wirelessly to a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump.
Dr. Boris Kovatchev, director of the UVA Center for Diabetes Technology, is scheduled to present the results at The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting on Feb. 15. in Washington D.C.
Along with the latest information on the clinical trials for the artificial pancreas, Kovatchev will provide an overview of UVA’s ongoing efforts to better control and find a cure for type 1 diabetes through the Virginia Precision Individualized Medicine for Diabetes (PrIMeD) project.
The PrIMeD project has received $16.9 million from UVA’s Strategic Investment Fund to develop ways to detect, control and eventually cure a condition that affects millions.
The project’s goals include genetic risk screening for all Virginia children under age 5, customized monitoring and treatment plans developed through computerized approaches and newly planned immunotherapies that could restore the body’s ability to make insulin.
Courtesy: University of Virginia Health System.
Updates to follow.
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Get the latest on UVA’s artificial pancreas with testing nearly complete. (2019, Feb. 13). EurekAlert! Retrieved: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-02/uovh-gtl021219.php