Tiny pump may end needle dependency

A tiny implanted capsule that creates and supplies insulin to the body may eventually be developed to replace insulin injections for diabetes, says a researcher.

The microchip-sized pump is coated with silicon, so the body will not reject it, and contains insulin-producing cells, says developer Tejal Desai, of the University of Illinois.

"The capsule essentially acts as a bioreactor - it contains insulin-secreting cells that borrow nutrients from the body to keep producing insulin indefinitely.

Tejal Desai, whose work was financed by the National Science Foundation, presented her findings to a meeting of the American Vacuum Society in San Francisco.

She said the device would require more testing before it could be developed for use in diabetes patients.

Type one diabetes, which affects as many as two million Americans, is caused when the immune system mistakenly destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Patients must inject insulin and follow careful diets. Some patients with type two diabetes must also inject insulin.

- REUTERS

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