World’s First Artificial Pancreas App Licensed – The CamAPS FX app
At the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, based on over a decade of research by Professor Roman Hovorka, the world’s first licensed, downloadable artificial pancreas app for people with type 1 diabetes launches today.
For people living with the condition, via a complex algorithm, the CamAPS FX app automatically delivers insulin and it works with an insulin pump and a glucose monitor.
In the UK, there are around 29,000 children affected by type 1 diabetes out of a total of about 400,000 people. On those diagnosed with the condition, this disease has a life-long impact on them and their families type 1 diabetes is a chronic, life-threatening condition. As these patients’ pancreas no longer produces insulin itself, just to stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes rely on a routine of finger-prick blood tests and insulin injections or infusions.
Much of the management of the condition will be taken over by the app in the future with more improvements by Professor Hovorka. When type 1 diabetes patients experience potentially dangerous low blood glucose levels at night, this is particularly important.
On an online platform called Diasend, the user’s blood glucose measurements can be uploaded seamlessly through the app and thus, more personalized care can be provided by the patient’s diabetes team.
At the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, Professor Hovorka, and his research group carried out 13 years of clinical research which backs the CamAPS FX app. The app is licensed for use by young children aged one and above, or during pregnancy. It is the first artificial pancreas system licensed for such use.
With the support of a small number of UK diabetes clinics, the app was launched and people wanting to use the app must confirm which clinic they attend and they should be using a Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitor and a Dana RS pump.
Through the NHS, to all those who need the app, Professor Hovorka and his research team will work to continue to bring this technology.
In the journey towards a fully automated artificial pancreas for everyone with type 1 diabetes, this commercial launch is a milestone.
The type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, Diabetes UK, The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust, Horizon 2020, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute for Health Research supported the funding for the research behind the app.
As part of a clinical trial, a patient who has been using the app, Fiona O’Reilly said, “This app makes me feel, overall. Since the time I was diagnosed, this is is the closest I have been to live without the burden of type 1 diabetes and this feeling is fabulous. I feel less ashamed of the fact that I find achieving good glycaemic control so tricky and less fearful of hypoglycemia.”
For UK users, the app is now available via the Amazon Appstore onto Android phones. On a subscription basis starting at £70 per month, this app can be purchased.
Author: Prathibha HC
