MIT is Developing an All-In-One Means of Diabetes Treatment

Some of the equipment a diabetes patient may traditionally use. (Photo: Matt Chesin/Unsplash) A group of researchers at MIT are working on a new type of diabetes treatment that could make long-term management more accessible and sustainable. Giovanni Traverso, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has teamed up with postdocs and visiting students at the university to design devices that could provide diabetes patients with a one-stop shop that mitigates the inconvenience of treating their condition at home.

Current diabetes management is far from practical. In order to avoid a dangerous blood sugar spike after mealtime, diabetes patients have to inject themselves with insulin. This can only be performed once the patient has drawn blood to measure their glucose levels, and calculated the correct insulin dosage based on the estimated amount of carbohydrates they’ll be consuming. Without the assistance of widely-inaccessible continuous blood glucose monitors and insulin pumps, the process relies heavily on the patient’s dexterity and ability to plan ahead. Even for someone committed to managing their diabetes, this clunky form of treatment can be difficult to stick to long-term. 

A more streamlined approach like the one Traverso’s team is developing may aid in the long-term success of at-home diabetes management. According to the study published in the Journal of Controlled Release, there are two different devices in the pipeline: one that consolidates several steps of the above process into one task, and one that marries blood sugar measurement and insulin delivery on one needle. Both work in tandem with a smartphone app—also developed by MIT—that identifies and quantifies carbohydrate content in food.

The first device combines a lancet (used to draw blood) and glucose testing strips into one tool, which measures and conveys a patient’s blood sugar level to MIT’s smartphone app via Bluetooth. The app then calculates the patient’s ideal insulin dose and delivers it using an included needle. 

The second device reduces the patient’s potential discomfort down to one needle prick. Traverso and his colleagues developed a flexible electronic glucose sensor that could be incorporated into the same needle used for insulin injection. The needle takes a maximum of ten seconds to measure the patient’s glucose level; it then transmits that data to the smartphone app to calculate the right dose of insulin and deliver it to the patient. 

Traverso’s team has filed for patents on both devices. Each has been tested on pigs but not on humans, and given the novelty of the newly-developed glucose sensor, the second device will require further development before it finds its way into patients’ hands. 

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