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MIT Researchers Have Created An Artificial Pancreas – And It Could Change The Lives Of Diabetics

Today, we are talking about a brand-new and incredible seamless device that has been developed by the engineers at MIT. The engineers, along with the collaborators at MIT, have stepped up to develop an artificial device that can treat diabetics without forming scar tissues. The technique is definitely an incredible scientific feat of its own, and the researchers have done an outstanding job in this regard. The experiment has been performed by MIT engineers on mice and they released a research study regarding this in which they detailed the whole procedure of deploying the device and how long it could function in a human body as compared to the previous methods.

While it is important to note that several implantable devices and cannula placements have been used to date to treat the problem of diabetics. This in turn could stimulate the presence of scar tissues which might occur in the operational parts of the patient. This situation is also called “foreign body response,” and it may become a cause of difficulty and trouble for the patients.

However, to cater to this issue, an approach has been developed that clearly and succinctly illustrates the effectiveness of this method as it has been presented in a study conducted by MIT engineers. A soft robotic device, when activated by the mechanical actuators, would become capable of being operational for a longer period of time as compared to the conventional drug-delivery implant in the body.

Instead of using implantable devices and cannula placements, this soft robotic device has really solved the problem by preventing the formation of scars. According to Ellen Roche, who is the Latham Family Career Development Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, “We’re using this type of motion to extend the lifetime and the efficacy of these implanted reservoirs that can deliver drugs like insulin, and we think this platform can be extended beyond this application.”

It is therefore important to note that this state-of-the-art device manufactured by the researchers keeps on inflating and deflating for five minutes every 12 hours of the day. One of the main advantages of deploying this device is that the mechanical actuation forbids immune cells from assembling with the implantable devices. The device would definitely prove a standout in the field of biological research and innovation. Moreover, research is on the way in order to find out if the “device can also be used to treat bioartificial pancreas to help treat the diabetics”. This, in turn, is going to be one of the biological wonders in the field of technology and innovation.

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