JDRF funds wearable artificial pancreas system for children with type 1 diabetes

JDRF has announced it is funding the development of a disposable patch device that could enable children with type 1 diabetes to wear an artificial pancreas system.
This is the second partnership announcement JDRF has made this week in a bid to develop wearable automated insulin delivery systems for people with type 1 diabetes. On Wednesday, the charity announced that they have teamed up with SFC Fluidics to develop a pioneering insulin delivery device.
With this new partnership, JDRF will support EOFlow Co. Ltd, a South Korean wearable medical device company, to fund and run clinical trials of a new insulin pump system.
The system will build on the success of EOPatch, the company’s first product, which is marketed as the world’s lightest and safest fully functional wearable, disposable insulin pump.
This new patch device consists of an insulin pump and a continuous glucose sensor. It is run by a closed-loop program that regulates blood sugar levels, and minimal user input is required.
Whereas artificial pancreas systems can be quite bulky, which can be problematic for children, EOFlow plans to build their system so it is small and light enough for children’s use.
“Next-generation wearable designs that are smaller and employ user-centric design will remove barriers that prevent some people, especially small children, from using these life-saving and life-changing glucose management devices,” said Jaime Giraldo, Ph.D., JDRF Research Scientist.
“Innovation in automated insulin delivery devices and artificial pancreas (AP) systems will help to significantly improve health and quality of life for people with T1D.”
EOFlow Chief Executive Officer Jesse Kim said: “We are very excited that EOFlow is partnering with the world’s leading private nonprofit funder of T1D research to accelerate the development of this wearable automated insulin delivery system.
“JDRF is a partner that believes in our vision of a small, practical, fully functional artificial pancreas system that can be used by anyone with T1D to help live a fuller life.”