Girona researchers work on an intelligent insulin pump for diabetics
<p>Pilot tests will begin in January next year, with a prototype expected at the end of 2018</p>
This is not the first insulin pump available, but unlike the other two options the new device has a sensor that detects glucose levels and transmits information on the amount of insulin that has to be supplied to the diabetic patient at any given moment.
That is the goal of this intelligent insulin pump, which is being developed by the European Project Pepper (Patient Empowerment Through Predictive Personalized Decision Support) with the participation of Girona researchers from the Nutrition, Eumetabolism and Health Group at the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI), the University of Girona and from the Josep Trueta Hospital.
The project will last for three years and is financed by the Horizon 2020 program and coordinated by Oxford Brookes University. This institution, together with the University of Girona, is in charge of developing the algorithms for the device, while the English company Cellnovo will work on the device itself and the Romanian company Romsoft will focus on programming.
The team expects pilot testing to begin in January next year, when the product will be tested on patients in the Josep Trueta Hospital and in Imperial College London. The managers calculate that the prototype will be ready at the end of 2018, with the product available on the market by 2020. Authorisation is currently being sought from the Spanish Agency of Medicinal Products.
In order to complete the project, researchers have a budget of four million euros, as well as the participation of companies and public organisations from different countries and sectors.