Tinna Björk Aradóttir: In USA, 60% of patients receiving long-acting insulin treatment only, do not reach recommended treatment goals. The main reasons reported include lack of empowerment and confidence, sub-optimal dosage regimen, fear of hypoglycaemia and complexity of treatment. In the long run, the poor treatment outcomes lead to complications and socio-economic burden.
Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) measure interstitial glucose every 5-15 minutes, compared to the traditional treatment of using self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG) measurements that provides a single glucose reading. Through frequently available measurements of glucose concentration, CGMs are able to track glycaemic variations more effectively than isolated SMBG measurements. Over the last years, many research groups around the globe have done extensive research within control algorithms for closed loop systems for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Based on the current status and activities within the field, we expect that a fully automated closed-loop system will become available for T1D patients within the next few years.
The aim of the project is to utilize the emerging technologies becoming available to T2D patients to enable safe and effective dose calculations, from the perspective of both patients and health care providers (HCPs). We integrate connected insulin pens and a CGM with a mobile phone, and call the system CGM-augmented insulin pens. We develop algorithms that use CGM and insulin data to predict blood glucose concentration and continuously estimate intra-individually varying physiological parameters such as insulin sensitivity, and optimise the dosage regimen based on predicted outcomes.
We expect that the use of the system empowers patients to self-titrate basal insulin and, in the more severe cases of T2D, enables safe bolus calculations. Furthermore, we expect that the system provides HCPs with sufficient insight to prescribe an optimal treatment regimen.
PhD project title:
PhD project: 2016 -
DTU Supervisor: John Bagterp Jørgensen