Artificial pancreas up for discussion with the FDA, NIH

The Food & Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health are planning a public hearing to determine if an artificial pancreas can help in the fight against diabetes.

One of the pancreas’ jobs is to regulate insulin levels in the bloodstream, but if the organ doesn’t function correctly, diabetes can result. A future solution to the disease that 171 million people suffer from worldwide may be to develop an artificial pancreas, according to the World Health Organization

A Nov. 10 public workshop called “Innovations in Technology for the Treatment of Diabetes: Clinical Development of the Artificial Pancreas” will feature diabetes specialists who will discuss strategies for future clinical studies that could facilitate the testing and eventual delivery of an artificial pancreas.

Such a device would be comprised of a “closed-loop system that would dispense insulin based on real-time changes in blood sugar levels,” according to the FDA, and would “provide a better quality of life and glucose control for those who require daily insulin administration.”

The workshop’s agenda includes researchers from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation‘s Artificial Pancreas Project, including Boston University’s Edward Damiano.

The FDA-hosted meeting will be videotaped and webcast for those who are unable to attend.