Artificial pancreas : positive balance for the first patients to Lyon

The artificial pancreas Diabeloop, tested in Lyon

Published the 28.06.2017 at 12h02

A A

Keywords :

diabetes type 1pancréas artificielHospices civils de Lyon

No more injections of insulin and test strips blood glucose ? This is what hope to many patients with type 1 diabetes. The technology that could mark the end of these practices is currently in clinical trials. The artificial pancreas, Diabeloop, developed in Lyon (Rhône), is tested in real life for three months by the Civil Hospices of Lyon.

6 patients belonging to this property have been included in the protocol. In total, 45 people, in 9 different hospitals, will participate in the study. They will be monitored remotely, via telemetry, by the teams of endocrinology participating. The results could give a boost to the obtaining of the CE mark, which is scheduled for 2018.

A sensor under the skin

If it is put on the market, the artificial pancreas should greatly facilitate the lives of people with diabetes. “Patients will have a micropump insulin to 32g fixed on them, a sensor and a Smartphone, that’s all,” says professor Charles Thivolet, head of the department of endocrinology of the CH Lyon-Sud.

In fact, the device operates in total autonomy. Placed under the skin, a glucose sensor regularly measure the blood sugar. The information is communicated to an application installed on the smartphone of the patient. At its core, an algorithm that calculates when to deliver a dose of insulin, via the insulin pump implanted in the patient.