Revolutionizing Diabetic Care

April 10, 2012

A new artificial pancreas developed in Israel may allow them sweeter dreams. The MD-Logic was recently tested on Israeli children at an overnight diabetes summer camp to resounding success. The key is that the device's software “thinks” like a physician, says one of its developers, Eran Atlas of the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Tel Aviv.

Using existing insulin pump technology, MD-Logic closes the loop between a continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump, allowing patients to self-regulate their glucose levels and deliver the exact amount of insulin needed, when needed—even at 3 o'clock in the morning.

jang14/shutterstock.com MD-Logic is the first system of its kind to be tried outside the hospital. “A bigger problem is not just for the seven-year-old with diabetes but for the parents,” says Atlas. “They are very stressed about the diabetes and often hire someone to be with the kids at school to administer insulin. But these caregivers don't always know diabetes so well. And then there are nights—the most frightening…We wanted the nighttime to be easier to manage.”

The next stage is to test the artificial pancreas at home under supervised conditions. The researchers believe that this is the first step in giving kids with diabetes—and the adults who supervise them—a worry-free night's sleep. For more information: www.schneider.org.il/Eng “Contact Us”

Source: Excerpts of an article by Karin Kloosterman, www.israel21c.org