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An implantable insulin pump for diabetics is a step nearer thanks to a
mathematical model that draws inferences from changing blood glucose levels. The
algorithm can be encoded in a computer program that fits inside a 30-kilobyte
memory chip, say its developers at the University of Delaware in Newark. Today’s
external pumps deliver a continuous trickle of insulin, but Frank Doyle and
Robert Parker’s program predicts the patient’s need for insulin every five
minutes. “If the glucose is going up quickly, the algorithm infers that a meal
has been ingested and the pump can respond quickly,” says Doyle. “Other models
do not respond until glucose levels are very high.”