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An estimated 425 million people globally have diabetes, accounting for 12% of the world's health expenditure. Living with diabetes is no easy feat, for people with type one diabetes missing a meal or going for an unplanned walk could dangerously reduce their blood glucose level, and severe low blood sugar at night may mean that regaining consciousness is impossible - a daunting thought for people to have to face when they live alone

In recent years technological developments have progressed and an enhanced algorithm has been created which is available in the US and expected in Europe within months, and it allows the pump to act as an automated delivery system as it guides insulin dosing in response to changes in blood glucose levels. This development is hugely beneficial as type one diabetics can now wear two small interconnected electronic devices that have significantly reduced the risk of falling blood sugar levels at night. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can check their blood sugar levels in real-time and communicate with a programmable insulin pump that delivers tiny amounts of insulin into the tissue under their skin. The technology has continued to improve its ease of use; users now spend less time inputting details of what they are to eat and they are less vulnerable to the effects of stress, hormones, and alcohol on their blood sugar level. Yet the system isnt perfect - many users still report frequently waking up in the middle of the night from the CGM warning them of high blood sugar levels or that the pump needs to be topped up with insulin.

These kinds of systems help to regulate sugar levels, avoid highs and lows and make the users' lifestyle significantly easier by reducing the need for constant monitoring and top-ups of insulin. Technologies like this are provided by devices from companies such as Medtronic and Diabeloop, and by CamDiabs CamAPS FX an Android phone app designed to work with commercially available insulin pumps and CGMs.

As with all medical technological developments, each new generation of devices has to go through a lengthy process of regulatory approval, which has consequently driven some people with diabetes to build their own DIY systems, using algorithms to control insulin dosing based on data from their CGMs. These DIY systems are able to automate the majority of the calculations that each individual would normally do whilst measuring their blood sugar levels, to make predictions and adjust insulin dosing, not only does the use of an automated system reduce the adjustments that people have to make themselves and the mental strain that comes with living with diabetes but also minimizes the chances of wrong predictions or insulin dosing due to human error.

Despite the growth of automated systems for diabetes, widespread adoption of these systems seems to have plateaued, one reason being the expenses rising up to 3,000-4,500 a year taking acquisition, maintenance and the need to replace pumps every few years into account. Recently, more research has been done into creating a more cost-effective method for creating an automated diabetes kit. An example of this is the smartpen, which are handheld devices for injecting insulin record details about the time and quantity of a patients dose and transmitting them to a mobile phone app via Bluetooth, used in combination with a CGM, the app can them advise people with diabetes on the amount of insulin they should take, costing under 1000 a year.

But pumps, CGMs and pens involve repeated skin piercing. The answer to these issues seems to lie with the use of electrocardiogram signals to track glucose levels and by applying artificial intelligence algorithms to a heartbeat scan, machines using ECG are able to detect low glucose with accuracy to match a CGM monitor, whilst being non-invasive and environmentally friendly due to the minimal waste produced. Trials with diabetic patients are to begin soon and wearable ECG-based monitors could be on the market within a few years with huge potential to still grow and develop in order to ease human experience, possibly by being incorporated into smart fabrics, so there is no need to wear separate devices.

Predictive algorithms, artificial intelligence and machine learning are beginning to tackle the issues that diabetics face in their day to day lives, and the future prospects for a completely automated system are promising, potentially providing a risk-free future for people living with the disease.

Read more:
How Close Are We To Creating A Fully Automated Diabetes Kit? - AI Daily

This entry was posted on May 1, 2020 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Diabetes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |