RunningHead:THEFUTUREOFINSULINPUMPS

TheFutureofInsulinPumps
TiffaneyCalabro
DavideProvinciali
DianaVoropaeva
TingWu
Period3
WestCareerandTechnicalAcademy

AuthorsNote
TiffaneyCalabro,BiomedicalSciences,WestCareerandTechnicalAcademyDavid
Provinciali,BiomedicalSciences,WestCareerandTechnicalAcademyDianaVoropaeva,
BiomedicalSciences,WestCareerandTechnicalAcademyTingT.Wu,BiomedicalSciences,
WestCareerandTechnicalAcademy.
CorrespondenceconcerningthisarticlemustbeaddressedtoDavidProvincialiorTingT.
Wu,BiomedicalSciences,WestCareerandTechnicalAcademy,LasVegas,NV89135.
Contact:tingw568@westcta.ccsd.net

RunningHead:THEFUTUREOFINSULINPUMPS

Abstract:
Insulinpumpisasmalldevice,almostlikeapagerthatdeliversinsulintothebodygoing
throughathintubeandneedleundertheskinusuallyaroundtheabdomenarea.Insulinpumps
arecreatedinawaywhereasmalldoseofinsulincanbesenttothebody,thisusuallyhappens4
timesaday.Insulinpumpsareveryhandyandeasytocarry.Youcanconnectittoabeltoreven
inyourpocket.Practically,theinsulinpumpmainfunctionistoacthasapancreasinthehuman
body.

RunningHead:THEFUTUREOFINSULINPUMPS

Description
A. PresentTechnology
Insulinpumpsareusedtocontrolandmonitorbloodglucoselevel.Theydeliverconstant
supplyofinsulinthroughouttheday,achievedthroughacatheterplacedundertheskin.The
computerizeddevicewhichdisplaysthebloodsugarlevelscanbeclippedontoabelt.The
wearercanalsomanuallyadjustadosage.
Theprosofusinginsulinpumpsarethattheyallowtheuserhasanincreasedflexibilityin
lifestyle,predictableinsulindelivery,andmostimportantlypreciseinsulindelivery.Cons
howeverconsistofariskforskininfection,checkingthedevicefourtimesaday,pump
malfunctions,andcostlypumps,especiallyifnotcoveredbyinsurance.
B. History
Insulinpumpsstartedgettingattentioninthe1970s.Thefirstinsulinpumpwascreated
byDr.ArnoldKadish.Itwaswornonthebacklikeabackpackandthesizeofamicrowave
oven.Thispumpperformedthesamefunctionsthatthebetacellsdidinanondiabeticpancreas.
Itstatedglucoselevelsinthebloodanddispensedinsulinintothebloodstreameveryfive
minutes.Becauseofthebigsize,itwasusedtotreatdiabeticketoacidosis.Asthisconcept
developed,researchershadanideatoallowanindividualtomonitorbloodandregulatepump
independentlyandtheideaofaportableinsulinpumpwasborn.
Oneofthefirstinsulinpumpswerelighterandsmallerandsturdier.Itgavemore
advantagesthanchemotherapypumpsandthepumpsweremorecosmeticthanever,allowing
userstostillbeactivebuttheflawwasthattheuserhavetodiluteinsulininconcentrationwith

RunningHead:THEFUTUREOFINSULINPUMPS

saliandeventuallythesamefluidthatinsulinisdissolvedin.Thepumpsthenweredesignedto
deliveraspecificamountoffluidatspecificintervals.Doseshadtobecalculatedtoachieve
properamountforeachpatient.
Withpopulationofpumpusersincreasing,thenumberofmanufacturersdidaswell.A
varietyofpumpsfloodedthemarket,somegoodandothersnotasgood.
C. FutureTechnology
Thefuturedevelopmentsthatarelikelytobeimprovedistargetedtowardclosingthe
loop,toallowfeedbackcontrolbetweentheinsulinpumpandhavinganaccurateglucosesensor.
Adjustmentstowardstheaccuracyofinsulindeliverytothebody.Wethinkthattheinsulinpump
willchangethroughouttenyearsbybeingsyntheticallyinsertedneartheliversothatthepatient
wouldhaveaneasierlifestyleandnotbebotheredbyanyoutsidetechnicaldevicesthathaveto
beclippedneartheirbody.ByusingrecombinantDNAtechnologybycombininggenesof
differentorganismstoformahybridmolecule.Whichthencanproduceinsulinwhenneededto
balanceinthebody.
D. Breakthrough
Sinceourtechnologywillbeimplantedinsideofahumanbeing,thesizeofthepumphas
todecreaseinsizeaswellasdoingitsfunctioncorrectly.Thebestwayforthistohappenwill
probablybenanotechnology.Wewillmakethepumpalmostinananoscalebutitwillbebig
enoughtoknowthatitsinthere.Anotherthingthatwewillbecreatingisawaysothepumpcan
createitsowninsulin.Thewaythiswillworksothepumpcanuseitsownmaterialsinthebody
andcreateitsowninsulin.
E. DesignProcess

RunningHead:THEFUTUREOFINSULINPUMPS

Theinsulinpumpwillbecreatedinawaythatourbodywillregisterishasapancreas.
Onemajorfactorthatweneedittoconnectthepumpthatsinsideourbodywiththeoutside
world,probablywifionoursmartphones.Thiswaywecanseeifthereissomekindof
disturbancewiththepump.Lastistryingtocreatethepumpsoitcancreateitowninsulinusing
thematerialsalreadyinourbody.Thiswaywehaveanunlimitedsourceandwewonthaveto
worryaboutcheckingiteverytime.

F. Consequences
Possiblechancesofsomeonehackingintoinsulinpumpbutitllwillbeveryprotected,
butnooneknowswhatcanhappenin20years.Ifoneplayssports/getsviolent,thereare
chancesthatthepumpmaybedislodged.Ifonedoesnottakecareofit,therearepossible
chancesofinfection.Veryrare,butthehumanbodycouldrejectthesyntheticallymadeinsulin,
somemayalsodevelopanallergicreactiontothesyntheticallymadeinsulin.

RunningHead:THEFUTUREOFINSULINPUMPS

Bibliography
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http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/201986
THEEVOLUTIONOFINSULINPUMPS.(n.d.).RetrievedJanuary12,2015,from
https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/vod/vsum0001.htm