Australian doctors have developed a new pump for type-one diabetes patients to avoid life-threatening seizures and comas.
Tim Jones, head of the Department of Endocrinology at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth, Australia, and his team had developed an artificial "pancreas-like" pump that delivers and suspends insulin in diabetes patients, Xinhua reported Friday.
The new device can identify a potentially fatal coma in patients and suspend the supply of insulin when their blood-sugar levels get dangerously low.
"Some patients will notice symptoms like a pounding heart and shakiness as their blood glucose drops," Jones said.
"Other people don't experience any warning signs at all, meaning the reliance on this technology is even greater," Jones added.
Jones said the new pump can help patients avoid episodes of hypoglycemia or low blood glucose.
Mike Wilson, chief executive of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, said the development has brought Australia a step closer to the creation of fully automated artificial pancreas.
