ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS IN THE TREATMENT OF TYPE 1 DIABETES

Despite major progresses in insulin therapy in type 1 diabetes (T1D), reaching recommended targets is very difficult and often associates an important psychological burden for both patients and families. An artificial pancreas combines an insulin pump, a continuous glucose monitoring system and a control algorithm linking the two. The modern control algorithms (usually set up on a smartphone platform) are known as model-predictive control (MPC) and use mathematical models of the metabolic system. Insulin pumps with "low threshold suspend" or "predictive threshold suspend" options are already commercially available. Studies performed in the last couple of years proved also the viability of night only or 24 hours closed loop systems that improved glycemic control or decreased hypoglycemic episodes, both in inpatients and outpatient settings. Artificial pancreas systems have the potential to improve significantly the metabolic control of T1D subjects, reducing in the same time the burden of diabetes self management.