Artificial Pancreas Project

About JDRF Artificial Pancreas Research

JDRF is funding a multi-million dollar a year research program to assess the clinical and economic benefits of continuous glucose monitors and to advance the development of a closed-loop artificial pancreas.

JDRF Continuous Glucose Monitor Trial.

JDRF funded this national, 10-site clinical trial in 2006 to independently assess the effectiveness of CGM use. The trial, whose first results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on October 2, 2008, found that people with type 1 diabetes who used CGM devices to help manage their disease experienced significant improvements in blood sugar control. The trial was named one of the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2008 by ABC News. Additional results are expected to become available in 2009. For more, see the JDRF CGM page.

The Artificial Pancreas Consortium.

This worldwide consortium of diabetes researchers, mathematicians, and engineers aims to speed and optimize the process of linking continuous glucose sensors and insulin pumps, including the development of various computer "algorithms" to communicate between the two devices. This research builds from research already funded by JDRF at Yale which showed people with type 1 diabetes using closed loop systems in the hospital spent more time in normal glucose range. The consortium is now funding multiple sites to test the safety and effectiveness of various versions of a closed loop system and make them more effective for real world situations such as meals, exercise, and stress. While the initial research is taking place in hospital based clinical settings, the initiative will soon test artificial pancreas systems in every day life settings such as home or school.

Consortium participants include Cambridge University, Boston University, Oregon Health & Science University, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Stanford University, University of Colorado, University of Virginia, Yale University, and University of California Santa Barbara.

JDRF Artificial Pancreas Industry Partnerships.

Because of JDRF's investment to date, leading researchers across the world are developing, testing, and refining computer algorithms for the artificial pancreas. Once this testing is complete, these algorithms will need to be integrated with next generation glucose monitoring and insulin delivery technologies to achieve an artificial pancreas system; shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials; reviewed and approved by the FDA; and manufactured by a company before people with diabetes will have access to it. To move the artificial pancreas along this development pathway as quickly as possible, JDRF is seeking to partner with companies, and recently issued this document outlining JDRF's priorities in this area.

Additional Information