The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) will host the annual Desert Southwest TypeOneNation Conference this Saturday at the Camelback Inn.
The conference will feature breakout sessions, pharmaceutical vendors, as well as a variety of speakers. The keynote speaker will be Kady Helme, an artificial pancreas project participant.
Helme will talk about her first-hand experience with the benefits of the artificial pancreas. In addition, she will explain how the technology has the ability to change lives.
Helme was part of the first real-world clinical trial that explored the potential of the artificial pancreas.
The artificial pancreas is new technology that could revolutionize the world for people living with Type 1 Diabetes.
JDRF has been funding research for several years that aimed to create an artificial pancreas system that would enable people with Type 1 Diabetes to go about their days normally.
There are currently 15 thousand children and 15 thousand adults that are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes each year. This equates out to about 80 people per day.
According the JDRF, the Artifical Pancreas Project (APP) has a six-step process for that artificial pancreas which would have the ability to detect blood sugar levels and deliver insulin in response to those levels without any extra work on the body’s part.
Each step varies in automation with different incremental advances that begin with devices that shut off insulin delivery to prevent episodes of low blood sugar to a fully automated “closed loop” system.
The steps increase based on the users needs. Each step increases the amount of moderation of maintenance for blood sugar levels.
Helme is scheduled to speak at 2p.m. at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale.
