For decades physicians have wondered why the development of an artificial pancreas has been so slow. Such a device should be the perfect treatment for patients with type 1 diabetes. An artificial pancreas would combine the already available insulin pump with a sensing device that would monitor blood sugar thus enabling insulin to be infused when glucose rises and to be discontinued when it falls.

Wired magazine has an interesting article on the subject. It details the slow progress that has characterized work in this field and describes where we are now. As an interested observer of this field, but not an active worker in it, I’ve been puzzled for decades as to why such a life saving machine has not appeared sooner. The technology required for its development has been available for a long time.

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