Feasibility Studies of an Insulin-Only Bionic Pancreas in a Home-Use Setting

Background: We tested the safety and performance of the "insulin-only" configuration of the bionic pancreas (BP) closed-loop blood-glucose control system in a home-use setting to assess glycemic outcomes using different static and dynamic glucose set-points.

Method: This is an open-label non-randomized study with three consecutive intervention periods. Participants had consecutive weeks of usual care followed by the insulin-only BP with (1) an individualized static set-point of 115 or 130 mg/dL and (2) a dynamic set-point that automatically varied within 110 to 130 mg/dL, depending on hypoglycemic risk. Human factors (HF) testing was conducted using validated surveys. The last five days of each study arm were used for data analysis.

Results: Thirteen participants were enrolled with a mean age of 28 years, mean A1c of 7.2%, and mean daily insulin dose of 0.6 U/kg (0.4-1.0 U/kg). The usual care arm had an average glucose of 145 ± 20 mg/dL, which increased in the static set-point arm (159 ± 8 mg/dL, = .004) but not in the dynamic set-point arm (154 ± 10 mg/dL, = ns). There was no significant difference in time spent in range (70-180 mg/dL) among the three study arms. There was less time <70 mg/dL with both the static (1.8% ± 1.4%, = .009) and dynamic set-point (2.7±1.5, = .051) arms compared to the usual-care arm (5.5% ± 4.2%). HF testing demonstrated preliminary user satisfaction and no increased risk of diabetes burden or distress.

Conclusions: The insulin-only configuration of the BP using either static or dynamic set-points and initialized only with body weight performed similarly to other published insulin-only systems.