NHS to offer 150,000 people with type 1 diabetes an artificial pancreas

More than 150,000 adults and children with type 1 diabetes in England and Wales are to be offered an artificial pancreas on the NHS, which experts are hailing as a “gamechanger” that will “save lives and heartbreak”.

The groundbreaking device, also called a hybrid closed-loop system, uses a hi-tech algorithm to determine the amount of insulin that should be administered and reads blood sugar levels to keep them steady. A world-first trial on the NHS showed it was more effective at managing diabetes than current devices and required far less input from patients.

Final draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that people in England and Wales should benefit from the wearable device if their diabetes is not adequately controlled by their current pump or glucose monitor. The decision to give the go-ahead for widespread use of the artificial pancreas was announced on Tuesday at NICE’s annual conference in Manchester by Dr Sam Roberts, its chief executive.

The artificial pancreas has been found to be better at keeping blood sugar levels within a healthy range, cutting the risk of people suffering complications from diabetes. It works via a continuous glucose monitor sensor attached to the body which transmits data to a body-worn insulin pump.

This pump then calculates how much insulin is needed and delivers the precise amount to the body. Hybrid closed-loop systems mean people do not need to rely on finger-prick blood tests or injecting insulin to control their blood sugar levels.

Yasmin Hopkins, who took part in trials of the artificial pancreas, said: “From day one it was amazing. Before the closed-loop system, I would experience a lot of highs, which I’d then overcorrect, go low and eat a lot of sugar. All of that has been eradicated.

“This technology gives me the freedom to get on with my life and live without fear of what might happen in a few hours, days or years.”

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Source: The Guardian, 7 November 2023

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