The Implantable Insulin Pump: New Technology That Delivers Insulin Without Needles

Technology is a wonderful thing and when it comes to being a diabetic, researchers are helping you increase the convenience of having to take your insulin by developing ways for this insulin to be delivered into your bloodstream without the use of needles.

There are several products in development that will allow you to deliver your insulin via inhaling it, through pills, as well as a delivery method we are going to discuss today – the implantable insulin pump.

Researchers are currently working on a system that can deliver your insulin without the use of a needle through an implantable artificial pancreas. The goal here is to eventually produce what is called a "closed loop" system of delivery. The process will work like this:

A) First a glucose sensor, that is designed to measure the level of glucose in your blood, will detect the levels and communicate this data to the pump.

B) The information that the sensor picks up is transmitted directly to the implanted insulin pump and contains all of the glucose data that it read.

C) This pump will then release the perfect amount of insulin that will fulfill the needs depending upon what data was sent from the glucose sensor. The insulin will be delivered via a tube that is located in the peritoneal cavity.

D) In order to keep the implantable insulin pump stocked with insulin, there will be an outside injection point where you will be able to fill up the insulin when needed.

As we mentioned earlier, developers are hoping to come up with a closed loop system. This means that we currently have an "open loop" system. This open loop system provides an external insulin pump which delivers the insulin, but it is your responsibility to program the amount of the dosage in which you want delivered.

This product is not yet available but at the rate the research and development is going, a closed loop implantable insulin pump system should be ready for the market in the upcoming years.

Recommended Reading

1. The Insulin Pen: An Easy Way To Measure & Inject Insulin
As a diabetic who must take insulin shots on a regular basis, before every meal, and then again at bedtime,...
2. Injecting Your Own Insulin: 7 Ways To Keep The Treatments Safe
For the diabetic that must administer insulin shots for the rest of your life, there are some basic tidbits of...
3. Metabolic Syndrome
Researchers have found certain variables play an important role in a person's chances of developing heart disease. These variables are...
4. 6 Types Of Insulins & Their Activity Rates
There are different forms of insulin that have been created to work at different points of time within the body. ...
5. Ischemic Cardiomyopathy
There are various types of Cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is when the heart's tissues or muscles become diseased and don't function properly....