Using a bionic pancreas to monitor blood sugar levels

There's a new way for people with type 1 diabetes to control their blood sugar levels, and medical experts are calling it groundbreaking.

“I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in my 30s during the pandemic,” Casey Fisler said.

Fisler had to learn to count carbohydrates, check his blood sugar and operate an insulin pump multiple times a day.

“It's something you have to think about all the time,” Fisler said.

Fisler, like many people with type 1 diabetes, uses a bionic pancreas, a small patch placed on the skin to monitor blood sugar levels.

Users must manually input the amount of carbohydrates they have consumed, and their smartphone will alert them if they enter too many or too few carbohydrates.

“Currently, these devices monitor blood glucose levels and then respond by increasing or decreasing insulin based on that number,” says Steven Boyda, an associate professor of information sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

But what if these pumps got even smarter?

Fisler is now part of a team at the University of Colorado Boulder working to develop algorithms that can better predict, rather than just react to, how blood sugar levels will change.

“So instead of just looking at, 'What's your blood sugar?' or 'Is it going up or down?' we're looking at, 'What's your blood sugar?' or 'Where are you?' or 'What's on your calendar?' or 'Who's around you?'” Boyda said.

It allows patients to live their lives more freely without constantly thinking about their type 1 diabetes.

One issue that needs to be addressed is privacy.

Fissler, who studies privacy and ethical issues surrounding digital technology, said one concern will be what people are willing to share in exchange for smarter devices to help manage their type 1 diabetes.