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SUMMARY:Closing on closed-loop insulin delivery: Artificial Pancreas - whe
 re we are and where we go - Dr Roman Hovorka\, Institute for Metabolic Sci
 ences
DTSTART:20081001T123000Z
DTEND:20081001T130000Z
UID:TALK12812@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Duncan Simpson
DESCRIPTION:Research over the past decade shows that blood glucose control
  is the most important predictor of the devastating complications of diabe
 tes. Achieving good blood glucose control dramatically lowers the risk of 
 serious complications\, by as much as 75% for some problems. Yet recent st
 udies reveals that even the best-controlled patients spend less than 30 pe
 rcent of their day within the normal blood sugar range – especially over
 night\, when patients are most vulnerable to hypoglycemia and severed hypo
 glycaemic events like seizures and coma. \nFor these reasons\, JDRF\, the 
 University of Cambridge and other scientists around the world are working 
 together to develop a closed-loop artificial pancreas\, a system that will
  integrate a real-time glucose sensor and an insulin delivery system. This
  technology will enable a person with diabetes to improve glucose and HbA1
 c levels by automatically providing the right amount of insulin at the rig
 ht time\, just as the pancreas does in people without the disease. \nThe h
 ighest research priority is the exploitation of existing glucose monitors\
 , whether approved or undergoing regulatory approval\, for the development
  of the artificial pancreas. The most important issue is sensor reliabilit
 y as accuracy of existing sensor appears to be sufficient. For regulatory 
 approval\, the overall performance of the artificial pancreas rather than 
 the sensor accuracy should be the decisive issue. \n
LOCATION:MR2\, Centre for Mathematical Sciences\, Wilberforce Road\, Cambr
 idge
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