The world’s first licensed, downloadable artificial pancreas app for people with type I diabetes has been launched in the UK, in a bid to move closer to making full artificial pancreas technology available for everyone with the disorder.
The CamAPS FX app works with an insulin pump and a glucose monitor to automatically deliver insulin to people with this life-threatening condition via an algorithm, backed by 13 years of clinical research carried out by diabetes Professor Hovorka and his research group.
As it stands, people with type I diabetes rely on a routine of finger-prick blood tests and insulin injections or infusions, but the new app aims to take over much of the management of the condition.
It can also upload the user’s blood glucose measurements to Diasend, an online platform, allowing their diabetes team to provide more personalised care.
The app is licensed for use by both adults and children with the condition - including pregnant women, and children aged one and up, and is the first artificial pancreas system to be licensed for use in pregnancy, or by young children.
Professor Hovorka, Professor of Metabolic Technology at the University of Cambridge, said the launch is a “major stepping stone” towards providing “widely available, clinically proven, and user friendly artificial pancreas technology to people with type I diabetes.
“Our aim is to alleviate the ever-present burden of type I diabetes and improve health outcomes. This is the outcome of hard work, with more to come. We are indebted to all who are helping us on this journey.”
Type I diabetes affects about 400,000 people in the UK, 29,000 of them children. Unlike type II, it is an autoimmune condition which cannot be prevented, and is not linked to lifestyle.
