New artificial pancreas technology will be given to diabetes patients in an NHS pilot scheme described as “potentially revolutionary”. The device, developed by Irish-American medtech company Medtronic, continually monitors a wearer’s blood sugar levels and adjusts the amount of insulin it delivers via a pump.
The new technology, referred to as “hybrid closed loop technology” should protect diabetics against potentially fatal hypoglycaemic attacks, and mean they no longer have to regularly inject themselves with insulin. The pilot scheme will see 1000 type 1 diabetes patients, including children, fitted with the devices.
Around 8% of UK diabetics have type 1 diabetes, which means their bodies cannot produce the amount of insulin they need to maintain a healthy blood sugar level. They currently have to monitor their own blood sugar levels by pricking their fingers and receive daily doses of the hormone, delivered via a pump or injector pen.
While that’s still a better scenario than was the case before the discovery of insulin in 1921, when few babies born with type 1 diabetes survived more than a year or two, it’s a daily burden sufferers have to content with for life.
In the UK, the effort of some type 1 diabetes patients to monitor their blood sugar level has been alleviated by another technological innovation, the Freestyle Libre device worn under the skin and which automatically monitors glucose levels. Around two fifths of NHS type 1 diabetes patients now wear a Freestyle Libra. But they still have to inject themselves with insulin top-ups.
The Medtronic device goes one step further. Not only are glucose levels measured automatically from inside the body but the amount of insulin needed to regulate that is calculated and delivered into the bloodstream.
The breakthrough technology was hailed by NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens, who commented:
“Living with diabetes is a daily challenge for millions of people, and this closed-loop technology has the potential to make a remarkable difference to their lives”.
“In a year that marks a century since insulin was discovered — which revolutionised the world of diabetes — this innovation is a prime example of the NHS’s continued progress in modern medicine and technology.”
The NHS’s national speciality adviser for diabetes, Professor Partha Kar, was equally effusive of the pilot scheme, saying:
“The NHS has long been at the forefront of clinical advances in care for major diseases, including diabetes, which have allowed patients to live longer and healthier lives.”
The 1000 patients to take part in the pilot attend around 25 different specialist diabetes centres in England. The will submit data gathered by the devices to a national audit whose results will be used to assess the case for the NHS fully adopting the technology.
The aim is to determine if offering the devices to all type 1 diabetes patients would represent “a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources”.