The Food and Drug Administration has finally approved the use of the first artificial pancreas on Wednesday. This device, called the MiniMed 670G, developed by Medtronic, which is manufactured specifically for patients over the age of 14 that are stricken with type 1 diabetes, will become available in the spring of next year.
The approval was followed with rave and optimism from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or JDRF, the world's largest charitable funder of type 1 diabetes research.
"I'm very excited about the fact that there is a system that will help people lead fuller, safer, higher quality lives," said Derek Rapp, JDRF's president and CEO.
The contraption, designed to automatically oversee and administer the distribution of insulin for people with type 1 diabetes, looks somewhat like a smartphone. It is wirelessly connected to an insulin pump and glucose monitor reducing the workload of patients by partly taking over the repetitive process of testing and regulating the blood sugar levels in their body. But of course, patients are still expected to control their glucose levels before eating.
With the excitement, fears and speculation follow regarding the price tag. The diabetes community is expressing their concern about the cost of the new device which can make it impossible for most patients already struggling with the rising cost of insulin. Medtronic has not yet announced how much it plans to charge prospective customers.
However, Leslie Bryant, the spokeswoman for Medtronic said that the company is negotiating with health plan providers to "enable patient access."
During the trial phase of the device prior to its approval by the FDA, it was tested on 123 type 1 diabetes patients. None of the patients developed any complications such as excess blood acids or low glucose levels that is normally the result of poor monitoring.
Currently, Medtronic is also testing the MiniMed 670G on younger patients as well. 13 year old Jonathan Platt of Los Angeles, is using the device. Following the initial adjustment period, blood sugar imbalances that prompt the burden of making sudden runs to Jonathan's room have been reduced from several times a night to half a dozen times a month.
"For our family, it's been life-changing," Jonathan's mother, Angie Platt, said.
