Advances made on Insulin Delivery Patch in monitoring Glucose levels

Bioengineers and colleagues at UNC School of Medicine and MIT have made advances with an insulin delivery patch could one day monitor and manage glucose levels and deliver insulin for those suffering with diabetes.

Glucose levels are currently tested via the patient drawing blood and using a device to determine in a dose of insulin is needed. Administration is a manual process carried out by the patient either via needle and syringe, an insulin pump, a pen like device.

Professor of bioengineering and project lead Zhen Gu commented on the initial successful test that were conducted in 2015, “Our main goal is to enhance health and improve the quality of life for people who have diabetes,” Gu said in a statement. “This smart patch takes away the need to constantly check one’s blood sugar and then injects insulin if and when it’s needed. It mimics the regulatory function of the pancreas but in a way that’s easy to use.”

The patch, which is no bigger than a ten pence piece, monitors blood sugar and glucose levels. Medication is delivered quickly when blood sugar reaches a certain level via pre-loaded microneedles filled with insulin. The delivery of insulin slows, when blood sugar returns to normal, preventing any overdosing.

“It has always been a dream to achieve insulin-delivery in a smart and convenient manner,” said study co-author John Buse, MD, PhD, director of the UNC Diabetes Centre and the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. “This smart insulin patch, if proven safe and effective in human trials, would revolutionise the patient experience of diabetes care.”

Researchers are currently applying for approval for human clinical trial to take place, which could happen within the next few years.