Steps towards a closed-loop artificial pancreas

A closed-loop artificial pancreas has been the “Holy Grail” of efforts to improve the medical care and lifestyle of individuals with type 1 diabetes. In this talk we provide an overview of research activities related to an artificial pancreas, beginning with a history of glucose sensing technologies, insulin delivery systems, and algorithms to connect sensor signals and insulin delivery rates. Current challenges include sensor calibration errors and signal artifacts, insulin infusion set failure, uncertain meal glucose dynamics, exercise effects, and insulin-glucose sensitivity variability.