A human body is essentially a collection of parts that can work together to serve a common purpose of growth, development, reproduction, and survival. The functioning of each part of the body is dependent on the other. The pancreas is also an important organ on which the functioning of other organs depend. The pancreas is a gland organ of about 6 to 8 inches alone which is located in the abdomen. It is a part of the digestive system that produces insulin and other important enzymes that help in the breakdown of food. Therefore, a problem in the pancreas can affect the whole body as the food (Glucose) will not be digested properly without the enzymes that are secreted by the pancreas which further leads to problems like weight loss, diarrhea and abnormal rise in glucose level also known as Diabetes.
TheraNova’s new patent US10143408B2 which was published recently titled – “Methods and devices for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes” discloses a technology of artificial pancreas and explains the methods for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in which an analyte concentration in peritoneal fluid (fluid in the abdominal cavity which helps in the lubrication of the tissues) can be determined by implanting an analyte sensor. The apparatus consists of a flexible catheter with a lumen whose proximal end is attached to the housing. In this technology, the analyte concentration is monitored continuously, specifically, glucose concentration in the peritoneal fluid.
In another embodiment of the patent, a glucose-sensing system (also called Artificial Pancreas) is explained which is placed on the abdominal surface of the patient or anywhere in the body. The insulin pump 84 utilizes a sensing catheter. The artificial pancreas automatically flushes back the catheter to maintain the flow of fluid. The catheter consists of anti-adhesive cuffs i.e. 78 and 80. The device also consists of an analyte sensor and the catheter will be attached to the glucose-sensing system/artificial pancreas. The insulin pump may consist of artificial pancreas which provides feedback of peritoneal glucose and peritoneal insulin delivery.
One of the embodiments describes Theranova’s fully-implantable peritoneal insulin infusion pump design presented below which comprises of a pre-peritoneal reservoir, a subcutaneous receiver with refill septum, a reservoir-to-receiver interconnect and an infusion catheter.
Although Artificial Pancreas is an old technology, it improves upon the shortcomings in the previous versions of the technology, i.e. problem of continuous monitoring of glucose and delivery of insulin with time into the patient’s body. This invention is going to be very helpful in overcoming these problems and helping doctors and patients for early detection of the concentration of glucose and insulin in the diabetic patient’s body.