Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Artificial Pancreas

A few weeks ago I found out that an artificial pancreas is in the works. Thanks to Johnson & Johnson and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, it could be on the market in about four years. At first I was a little skeptical because it sounded a little like it would end up being similar to the pump (which I was not a fan of after wearing it for one day). After reading more about it, I realized it would be much better.

Apparently, this thing would actually calculate insulin doses for me based on how many carbs I'm eating. That is amazing considering I'm often times lazy when it comes to carb counting. I'm terribly guilty of guessing how much insulin I need instead of calculating the right amount. The thing is, not every piece of food has the carb amount on the packaging, especially if you're at a restaurant. The device would also constantly track my blood sugar levels, which is also amazing--pricking my fingers can get very annoying. The worst is when I accidentally get blood on my shirt because I don't realize my finger is still bleeding.

I'm very excited about this new device and look forward to trying it out when it becomes available.