MIT Develops Implantable Device To Function As Artificial Pancreas For Diabetics

Many diabetics face the agonizing routine of having to administer insulin injections or cannula insertions into their bodies regularly, but it appears MIT researchers could’ve developed a more comfortable solution: implantable devices.

However, this fix isn’t foolproof, considering that the immune system is prone to attacking bodily implants, known as the ‘foreign body response’, forming a thick layer of scar tissue that could possibly block insulin release. 

Now, a team of engineers and collaborators may have successfully devised a way to overcome this problem, with an experiment on mice showing that when a soft robotic device was fitted with mechanical actuation, it remained functional for much longer than a typical drug-delivery implant.

The device—which can act as a pancreas—repeatedly inflates and deflates for five minutes every 12 hours, which prevents immune cells from accumulating around the implant and turning into scar tissue. 

“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,” explained Ellen Roche, Latham Family Career Development Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

With its promising results, the scientists are now looking into the possibility of using the device to deliver pancreatic islet cells to act as a “bioartificial pancreas” for diabetic patients, with the gadget designed specifically so that insulin can slowly seep out through its pores, or be released in large spurts.

To prove the theory, the researchers created a human-sized version of the bioartificial pancreas, showing it could successfully be implanted in the abdomen of a human cadaver as a “proof of concept” demonstrating the “minimally invasive surgical technique” could be used on a larger scale.

Going forward, the team is looking to adapt the gadget so it can sense glucose levels and automatically secrete insulin when readings are too high, which would eventually eliminate the need for patients to constantly monitor their own glucose levels when out and about. 

“The idea would be that the cells would be resident in the reservoir, and they would act as an insulin factory. They would detect the levels of glucose in blood, and then release insulin according to what was necessary,” remarked Roche. 

In the future, it’s even possible the device’s mechanics could be used to deliver other forms of immunotherapy, such as to treat ovarian cancer, or to deliver drugs to the heart to prevent heart failure in patients who have suffered from heart attacks.

“You can imagine that we can apply this technology to anything that is hindered by a foreign body response or fibrous capsule, and have a long-term effect. I think any sort of implantable drug delivery device could benefit,” the researcher summed up. 

[via Interesting Engineering and MIT, images via various sources]