JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project stands on the cusp of a breakthrough that represents the first step toward dramatically improving the lives of millions of people with type 1 diabetes: an artificial pancreas, an automated system to disperse insulin based on real-time changes in blood sugar levels.

JDRF's Artificial Pancreas Project brings together JDRF, founded 40 years ago by parents of children with type 1 and today the global leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide, and academic and business partners to aggressively work to speed the development and approval of automated systems for people with type 1 diabetes.

London (February 5, 2010)- In a landmark study in children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes, JDRF-funded researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that using a first-generation artificial pancreas system overnight can lower the risk of low blood sugar emergencies while sleeping, and at the same time improve diabetes control. 

The trials tested the safety and effectiveness of a first-generation artificial pancreas system used overnight in a hospital setting with participants between 5 and 18 years of age with type 1 diabetes.  The system combined commercially available blood glucose sensors and insulin pumps, controlled by a sophisticated computer program that determined insulin dosage based on blood glucose levels while the participants slept.