The First FDA-Approved Artificial Pancreas System

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The First FDA-Approved Artificial Pancreas System

Anne L. Peters, MD

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January 11, 2017

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Hi. Today I'm going to tell you about some of the most exciting news in the field of type 1 diabetes that we've had in a long time. This is the approval by the US Food and Drug Administration of what many would call the first artificial pancreas system. I am saying "artificial pancreas" because that is the terminology that many people use when describing this, but what we are actually talking about is a hybrid closed-loop system. I am going to explain to you what this means, how it works, how it helps patients, and some of its limitations.

First of all, you have to understand the components of this system. Many of you are probably familiar with an insulin pump. I am going to hold these up so you can see them. This is an insulin pump. It is actually the newest model of an insulin pump that is going to be used in this system. The pump is basically a box, and inside that box we have programmed basal rates and bolus doses. We basically give the pump numbers so that when a person puts in their blood sugar level and how many carbohydrates they are eating, the pump can calculate a dose.

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