My article is about diabetic insulin patches and how they affect people with diabetes. Diabetes is a disease caused by the pancreas not producing insulin which aids the body in sugar digestion. Currently insulin pumps are being used. “Insulin pumps are cell-phone-size devices that deliver preprogrammed and user-adjusted doses of insulin (Chait).”The pumps have to be manually set to inject the insulin using carbohydrate counting; however, they also alert the diabetic to low sugar and high sugar or mechanical malfunctions. Insulin pumps aide in controlling blood sugar levels and keeps a patient from having to have multiple needle injections a day. The person can have type one or type two diabetes. There is a new device called an insulin patch
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“Gu said his team next plans to test their smart insulin in pigs, whose skin is similar to humans and which are big enough to assess how well the patch may be able to regulate systemic insulin and glucose in humans. (Keener)” Before the smart patch, patients using standard insulin injection and even those on a pump would have to test their blood glucose levels multiple times a day. “If successful, we will test the patch on humans. It would take several years, most likely around 3 to 4 years, until potential clinical trials. (Hackethal)” The patch is still in the experimentation phase; however, it still looks very promising. This patch can also help fight the complications that occur with wrong injection amount; although the insulin pump can do that too. “People with type 1 diabetes who use insulin pumps seem to have a much lower risk of dying from heart disease or stroke prematurely than those who rely on multiple daily injections of insulin, new research suggests. (Gordon)” Uncontrolled glucose levels can lead to very damaging effects on a person’s body. The patch works faster and is less complicated than the other insulin administering products on the market plus it is made from a nontoxic material. “The insulin pump releases what they call regular insulin which is gradually released over time to maintain blood sugar and then a bolus amount after meals to accommodate the food they eat (Chait).” The patch is intended to eliminate all of the needle sticks and monitoring that is needed with the insulin pump and standard insulin injections. This patch could save diabetics a lot of time and money if it is ever followed through with. “‘The whole system can be personalized to account for a diabetic 's weight and sensitivity to insulin,’ Zhen Gu, (Dennis).” With the micro needles the insulin begins to work within about thirty minutes and lasts for about 9 hours. The
“Gu said his team next plans to test their smart insulin in pigs, whose skin is similar to humans and which are big enough to assess how well the patch may be able to regulate systemic insulin and glucose in humans. (Keener)” Before the smart patch, patients using standard insulin injection and even those on a pump would have to test their blood glucose levels multiple times a day. “If successful, we will test the patch on humans. It would take several years, most likely around 3 to 4 years, until potential clinical trials. (Hackethal)” The patch is still in the experimentation phase; however, it still looks very promising. This patch can also help fight the complications that occur with wrong injection amount; although the insulin pump can do that too. “People with type 1 diabetes who use insulin pumps seem to have a much lower risk of dying from heart disease or stroke prematurely than those who rely on multiple daily injections of insulin, new research suggests. (Gordon)” Uncontrolled glucose levels can lead to very damaging effects on a person’s body. The patch works faster and is less complicated than the other insulin administering products on the market plus it is made from a nontoxic material. “The insulin pump releases what they call regular insulin which is gradually released over time to maintain blood sugar and then a bolus amount after meals to accommodate the food they eat (Chait).” The patch is intended to eliminate all of the needle sticks and monitoring that is needed with the insulin pump and standard insulin injections. This patch could save diabetics a lot of time and money if it is ever followed through with. “‘The whole system can be personalized to account for a diabetic 's weight and sensitivity to insulin,’ Zhen Gu, (Dennis).” With the micro needles the insulin begins to work within about thirty minutes and lasts for about 9 hours. The