Diabetes treatment revolutionised with new device

An alternative to cannula insertions or insulin injections could be provided in the form of implantable devices that release insulin into the body. However, their use has been prevented as the immune system attacks them after implantation, forming a layer of scar tissue that prevents insulin release, creating an obstacle to the implementation of the device.
This reaction, the foreign body response, also interferes with many other types of implantable medical devices. The team at MIT has now devised a solution to overcome this response.
In a mice study, researchers showed that incorporated mechanical actuation remained functional for much longer than a typical drug-delivery implant when incorporated into a soft robotic device.
Researchers found that when the device is repeatedly deflated and inflated for five minutes every twelve hours, the mechanical deflection prevents immune cells from collecting around the device.
Associate professor of Mechanical Engineering, Ellen Roche, has stated, “We’re using this type of motion to extend the lifetime and the efficacy of these implanted reservoirs that can deliver drugs like insulin, and we think this platform can be extended beyond this application.”
The device is designed so insulin can be secreted in a large burst controlled by the actuator or slowly seep through pores in the drug reservoir.
When changes in the mice’s blood glucose levels were being calculated, they found that in mice that didn’t receive the actuated device, delivery effectiveness began to diminish after only two weeks, and after an additional eight weeks, no insulin was able to pass through the fibrous capsule. However, in mice with the actuation, efficient insulin delivery was preserved over eight weeks.