An artificial endocrine pancreas--problems awaiting solution for long-term clinical applications of a glucose sensor

The artificial endocrine pancreas is a feedback controlled system regulating insulin delivery on a minute-by-minute basis according to measured blood glucose levels. The bedside-type artificial endocrine pancreas has been proven to be useful not only as a therapeutic tool for diabetic patients but also as an elegant research tool for investigating the pathophysiology of the disease. Recently, a wearable-type, closed-loop system has been developed, of which the breakthrough was the establishment of a needle-type glucose sensor. However, for the long-term clinical use of needle-type glucose sensors, several obstacles remain to be solved, such as oxygen dependency, biocompatibility of the membrane, etc. The most promising method for the non-invasive determination of blood glucose is infrared spectroscopy. The trend in the development of a closed-loop glycemic control system which enables perfectly physiological glycemic regulation on a long-term basis is directed to an implantable device. Much research is being conducted to realize such devices.