Developing and clinically testing a learning algorithm that optimizes the performance of the artificial pancreas

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In healthy individuals, blood sugar levels are tightly controlled by two hormones: insulin and glucagon. Secretion of insulin, avital hormone to reduce blood sugar, is lost in type 1 diabetes. Thus, type 1 diabetes patients are currently treated byintensive insulin therapy through injections or insulin pump, but glucose control remains problematic and a big challenge formost patients.Research is under steady progress by our group to develop an external artificial pancreas that automatically regulatesglucose levels in patients with type 1 diabetes. The artificial pancreas is composed of three components: a continuousglucose sensor (to measure glucose levels), infusion pumps (to infuse insulin and glucagon), and an intelligent dosingalgorithm (to control insulin and glucagon delivery based on the readings of the sensor).We have tested the artificial pancreas in several clinical trials in our clinical research facility and the results were promising.The artificial pancreas improved significantly glucose control and reduced the risk of hypoglycemia compared toconventional pump therapy. We are currently moving to longer and larger real-life studies at home.The aim of this project is to improve the artificial pancreas so that it learns the insulin needs of the patients over time andadapts as the patients insulin needs changes. We believe that this new algorithm will maintain and improve the performanceof the system in face of slow changes in patients insulin needs over weeks/months. We aim to test this new system in acomputer simulation environment then clinically in 50 adolescents for 3 weeks.The artificial has enormous potential to improve quality of life, improve health outcomes, prevent hypoglycemic events,provide confidence for physical activities and alleviate key aspect of the burden of diabetes for patients, families and healthcare providers.