Bionic Pancreas Automatically Regulates Blood Sugar for Type 1 Diabetes
The iLet device can calculate and deliver insulin to the bloodstream with minimal input.
Karl Tapales / Getty
The biotech company Beta Bionics has unveiled a new wearable device that automatically delivers insulin for people with Type 1 diabetes, regulating blood sugar levels more effectively and more easily for patients. In a randomized-control studypublished in the New England Journal of Medicine, the new bionic pancreas, called iLet, was shown to reduce blood glucose levels for 219 adults and children with diabetes, from an average of 7.9 percent to 7.3 percent—better than similar devices created by competitors. The Wall Street Journal reports that only about one-fifth of Americans with Type 1 diabetes successfully maintain blood sugar levels within recommended ranges. An automated insulin-delivery system is designed to measure glucose levels periodically and inject only the right amount of insulin as needed into the bloodstream. iLet, which has not been approved by the FDA yet, is expected to cost about the same as its competitors—around $6,000—but would purportedly require less input from users and doctors to function properly.
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