Major advance in development of night-time automatic control device for blood glucose levels at home

Yet another exciting breakthrough took place yesterday in the advancement and development of the ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS by specialists at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel.

For the first time ever, two patients with diabetes were successfully treated overnight in their own homes with the MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas (MD-Logic) system. This is a huge and major step towards the development of a commercial device for night-time automatic control of a patient's blood glucose levels at home.

The trial follows a previous innovative and successful test that took place on October 9, 2011 simultaneously in Israel, Slovenia and Germany, where 54 diabetics were treated, for the first time in the world, with the MD-Logic system in diabetes camps.

The study is a part of a prospective, crossover, randomized endeavor, led by the specialists in the Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center of Childhood Diabetes, headed by Prof. Moshe Phillip MD at Schneider Children's Medical Center. Affiliated with Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, the team includes Dr. Revital Nimri MD and engineers Eran Atlas M.Sc, Shahar Miller B.Sc and Ido Muller B.Sc of the Diabetes Technology Center at Schneider Children's.

The collaborative project is operated by DREAM (Diabetes WiREless Artificial Pancreas ConsortiuM) with teams from three centers: Schneider Children's in Petach Tikva, Israel; the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism headed by Prof. Tadej Battelino at University Children's Hospital in Ljubljana, Slovenia; and the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes headed by Prof. Thomas Danne at Kinderkrankenhaus auf der Bult from Hannover, Germany.

Utilizing the MD-Logic - an automatic insulin delivery system - in the patient's home will allow millions of diabetics all over the world to lead a normal life, freeing them from the demanding and burdensome routine of traditional treatment. Moreover, the MD-Logic will reduce patients' fear of hypoglycemia and the risk of episodic unconsciousness and convulsions that might be secondary side-effects of severe hypoglycemia.  

Millions of children, adolescents and adults throughout the world suffer from childhood and other types of diabetes. The disease requires continuous vigilance concerning nutrition and blood glucose levels where insulin injections must compensate for the impaired function of the pancreas.

The "the MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas" technological solution for children and adolescents with childhood diabetes was developed by the multidisciplinary staff of doctors, nurses, dieticians and engineers in the Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes at Schneider Children's. . The system represents an "artificial pancreas", and comprises an off-the-shelf subcutaneous glucose sensor that monitors glucose levels, and an insulin pump. The sensor and pump are connected to a computer that programs the patient's information and stipulates the amount of insulin that should be released to the body in order to maintain blood glucose balance. This innovation "closes the loop" between the sensor and the pump, relieving the diabetic from daily treatment while potentially and significantly improving quality of life.

Following the latest successful trial, Prof. Phillip stated that "it is an important message for patients with insulin-treated diabetes and their families. Night-time is a sensitive period of the day where patients are unable to consciously control their blood glucose levels and are therefore exposed to extreme changes. Using the MD-logic system might change their life"

The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, the National Center for Childhood Diabetes at Schneider Children's Medical Center, a member of Clalit Health Services, annually treats more than 1600 children and adolescents with diabetes and receives 150 new patients each year. The Institute actively performs advanced basic and clinical research in all arenas of Endocrinology and Diabetes.