Get the latest on UVA's artificial pancreas with testing nearly complete

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 12, 2019 – A University of Virginia School of Medicine researcher will provide updates on a UVA-developed artificial pancreas – including early results from a nationwide clinical trial – during a presentation at the AAAS Annual Meeting. The presentation from Boris Kovatchev, PhD, director of the UVA Center for Diabetes Technology, is scheduled for 1:30-2 p.m. Feb. 15.

The artificial pancreas uses an advanced computer algorithm to automatically monitor and regulate blood-sugar levels in people with type 1 diabetes, with the goal of eliminating the need for them to stick their fingers multiple times daily to check their blood-sugar levels and to manually inject insulin.

The International Diabetes Closed Loop Trial is examining the algorithm’s use in two formats:

• A smartphone app connected wirelessly to a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump

• Embedded in the insulin pump

Along with the latest information on the clinical trials for the artificial pancreas, Kovatchev will provide an overview of UVA’s ongoing efforts to better control and find a cure for type 1 diabetes through the Virginia Precision Individualized Medicine for Diabetes (PrIMeD) project. The PrIMeD project has received $16.9 million from UVA’s Strategic Investment Fund to develop ways to detect, control and eventually cure a condition that affects millions. The project’s goals include genetic risk screening for all Virginia children under age 5, customized monitoring and treatment plans developed through computerized approaches and newly planned immunotherapies that could restore the body’s ability to make insulin.

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