Scientists Create An Android-Powered Artificial Pancreas

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Is it just me or does it look like there is a whole bunch of components needed to make an Android-powered artificial pancreas? Where does all that stuff go? I guess its worth it if it works but damn man, that's a lot of gear to be lugging around.

However, the way that type I diabetics keep on top of their condition could be about to change, thanks to technology. From as early as next year, medical hardware companies are expected to release devices known as "artificial pancreases": closed-loop systems that will automatically monitor the wearer's glucose level and top it up as and when needed -- courtesy of an algorithm stored on a simple Android phone.
 
There's been projects like this around for a bit, but this does sound less clunky than previous iterations. My ex girlfriend was type 1 diabetic (T1D). You honestly have no idea how much it affects them, you, and everything around you unless you have it or experience being with someone who does on a daily basis. When we first started dating I probably came close to killing her about three times (she woke up with a low of 22mg/dl) and had to take her to the hospital once. The other thing you don't realize is how much sugar levels affect their mood. Lows were almost like being around an uncoordinated drunk and highs were being with an angry lethargic person.

From a technology standpoint I find this interesting and we'd talked about it a few times. She wears a CGM and moved to a more recent sensor that syncs to her phone. We were talking about the way that the sensor authenticates with her pump / phone. I had watched a Defcon talk about replicating access points to track information and it made me think that you could probably replicate or intercept the access signal to the pump. Being able to regulate someone's insuline intake would allow you to kill them at any time or place. I whole heartedly support this artificial pancreas, but hope that security is considered with the implementation.
 
Beaflag VonRathburg said:
I whole heartedly support this artificial pancreas, but hope that security is considered with the implementation.
Click to expand...

^ THIS.

The tech sounds good in theory, but having some device that doesn't receive the latest security updates controlling if/when you die seems pretty damn sketchy. You could have a real problem even if the phone just simply crashed!
 
Good luck getting this to pass FDA muster.

Artificial pancreas type solutions have been sold in Europe for some time now, but FDA is not satisfied with the safety of linking the systems together, so herein the U.S. monitoring and dosing still ahve to be separate disconnected systems.
 
ruffbytes said:
^ THIS.

The tech sounds good in theory, but having some device that doesn't receive the latest security updates controlling if/when you die seems pretty damn sketchy. You could have a real problem even if the phone just simply crashed!
Click to expand...

I agree with you whole heartedly. It was a concern I always thought of. It'd probably be a good independent research topic for someone more knowledgeable then me. You probably could spoof the signal from a sensor and throw off someone's readings causing them to give themselves the wrong amount of insulin.

Part of a sound security plan is always always having fail overs in case of an emergency. The phone is just a more convenient way to monitor your blood sugar. The meter / pump still regulates insulin. If the pump or site fails (happens more then you'd think) your blood sugar will start to rise and they can usually tell. In that instance you can usually change the site, give yourself insulin, and monitor over the next X amount of time until it levels out. If the pump fails, you still have meters for checking and insulin pens for regulation. Technology like this does garner dependence and hopefully people won't forget about the failovers. The biggest thing you have to fight is passivity. Some T1D get burnt out in dealing with their disease and just get lazy with treatment, preparing, and other things. My ex was supposed to have; her phone, pump, backup sites, meter (charged), test strips, and gummies (emergency lows). She was the professional diabetic, but their were often times where I'd have to remind her to grab something or do a double check on things before we went somewhere. I still carry gummies in my back pack even though we aren't dating because a guy on my kickball team is T1D and I want to be able to help him if he needs it.
 
I have been a type 1 diabetic for 36 years and and currently us a wireless pump and a Continuous Glucose Monitor. I carry separate device to control each. The wireless pump uses a proprietary wireless signal that only has a range of 30-40 inches. I think this is a good call for the pump as it keeps it more secure. There is no way on God's green earth I would use an Android device to control my pump. I would not mind a single proprietary device that would read the CGM and control the pump. The pump and CGM really allow me to enjoy a quality of life and freedom that is unmatched by any previous management techniques. You do not need a pump or CGM to maintain tight control of your diabetes, it just makes the job a lot easier.
 
Ready for the new Android version? When your phone updates, the latest Android version [insert desert here] will arrive with a side of diabetic coma if the update fails or if the app isn't compatible anymore.
 
WtBadAss said:
I have been a type 1 diabetic for 36 years and and currently us a wireless pump and a Continuous Glucose Monitor. I carry separate device to control each. The wireless pump uses a proprietary wireless signal that only has a range of 30-40 inches. I think this is a good call for the pump as it keeps it more secure. There is no way on God's green earth I would use an Android device to control my pump. I would not mind a single proprietary device that would read the CGM and control the pump. The pump and CGM really allow me to enjoy a quality of life and freedom that is unmatched by any previous management techniques. You do not need a pump or CGM to maintain tight control of your diabetes, it just makes the job a lot easier.
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My 10 yr old is T1D, right now we have him on a pump that's capable of of supporting a CGM, but aren't using the CGM hardware. Too expensive, and not covered by my government's pump program nor by my insurance. I suspect that'll change in time, but for now, that's the reality. And I completely agree with you. I would never let Android anywhere near these devices, I can't even always count on my phone to upload a picture to facebook, forget about giving it the potential to kill my son because it gave him too much basal during the night, or whatever the bug of the day is.

Beaflag is right, diabetes is all consuming around your lifestyle. Everything and anything we do has to come with planning and attention. There's only a few people who are trained to babysit him, and he can't go anywhere without wearing a pouch that has all his equipment and emergency snacks.

Right now the biggest hope, at least where we live (Edmonton) b/c it's near the center doing the trials, is insulin implants. Which are going through the lengthy trial stages now. But essentially they put insulin making cells in a small capsule and insert it under your skin. The cells continuously create insulin and the capsule is designed to allow blood and glucose in, while keeping your immune system out. And that's the trick, otherwise your immune system would just kill them all off, both for being foreign cells and b/c you still have the auto-immune disease which caused the problem in the first place.
 
ruffbytes said:
^ THIS.

The tech sounds good in theory, but having some device that doesn't receive the latest security updates controlling if/when you die seems pretty damn sketchy. You could have a real problem even if the phone just simply crashed!
Click to expand...

You're in for a real surprise if you start looking into the security of medical devices in general. Most hospital gear is wide open to the most simplistic attacks and never get anything like a security update. Just do an Internet search for "hospital device security".
 
I just had a mental image of people having a diabetic stroke every time there is an amber alert due to a software bug.
 
45 Years as a Type 1.... and its sucked the whoooole time. Can control your life if you let it.

Figure I'll be dead and gone before any of the really cool solutions become available to me, but it's nice to see people still working on them.

I'm one of the lucky ones too, not blind (yet, but getting slowly worse), and nothing amputated yet. Other than weight and blood pressure, I'm in pretty good shape all things considered.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Good luck getting this to pass FDA muster.

Artificial pancreas type solutions have been sold in Europe for some time now, but FDA is not satisfied with the safety of linking the systems together, so herein the U.S. monitoring and dosing still ahve to be separate disconnected systems.
Click to expand...


Guess I have to take that one back...


I never thought this would actually happen.
 
Type 1 diabetic as well here.
So, the biggest question I have about this technology is how this control system actually works? Insulin, even the fast acting kind, has a fairly large curve (ie time) before it becomes effective -- that couple with all the unknown variables (injection iste scarring, insulin quality, temperature) etc. imo make it almost impossible to have the kind of accuracy required.
I use manual injections because I just do not really trust the technology - yet. I have no interest in being subjected to a control system which results in just massively swinging my blood sugar up and down between lows and highs.
But still interesting nevertheless.

One really promising technology were the Google lenses with the integrated glucose-monitoring via eye liquids, wonder what ever happened to that...?
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Guess I have to take that one back...


I never thought this would actually happen.
Click to expand...

From that article:

Although little or no input is required of a patient to maintain basal insulin -- also referred to as "background" insulin, this is the amount available whether a person eats or not -- the artificial pancreas does require users to manually adjust their bolus insulin.
Click to expand...

Well that's completely pointless then and no different than current CGMs and pumps....
 
schoolslave said:
From that article:



Well that's completely pointless then and no different than current CGMs and pumps....
Click to expand...

Good catch.

I work on medical devices, but I have specialized in cardiology, orthopedics and ophthalmics, never diabetes care so the clinical aspects of it are somewhat foreign to me.
 
schoolslave said:
From that article:



Well that's completely pointless then and no different than current CGMs and pumps....
Click to expand...

Its different in that it can adjust the basal rate automatically based on readings from the CGM. T1D for 36 years. My pump currenty has 6 different basal rates based on times of the day, so any schedule changes like when I went from working 7am - 4pm to working 6pm - 3am it threw all of those basal rates off. Its taken about 2 months of tweaking to get them all sorted out again. in the mean time my blood sugar was all over the map. I think we are a LONG ways off from seeing a fully functional artificial pancreas, I think stem cell research will be more beneficial.

And, like has already been said, unless you have T1D or have spent significant time with someone with T1D its impossible to know how much it affects a persons quality of life.
 
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