Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and North Carolina State University (NC State), who have created the first “smart” insulin patch that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.
The patch-a thin square no bigger than a penny-is covered with more than 100 tiny needles, each about the size of an eyelash. These “microneedles” are packed with microscopic storage units for insulin and glucose-sensing enzymes that rapidly release their cargo when blood sugar levels get too high. The eventual goal is to develop a smart insulin patch that patients would only have to change every few days.
More research will be required before the patch can be administered to patients, but the approach shows great promise.
This article was adapted from information provided by the UNC School of Medicine.