BioRelatedExample

History of why insulin control is important for diabetic patients

Diabetes mellitus is a disease of the endocrine system where the body cannot control blood glucose levels. There are two general classifications of diabetes:

Type 1 (also known as juvenile diabetes)
 * Genetic predisposition and/or an autoimmune attack destroys T-cells of pancreas
 * Body cannot produce insulin to regulate blood glucose

Type 2
 * Most common form of diabetes and has reached epidemic status in the United States
 * Usually caused by lifestyle
 * Obesity reduces body's responsiveness to insulin

Treatment for both types of diabetes may include exercise, dieting, oral medications, or insulin injections. Most insulin dependent diabetics follow a management plan that requires frequent testing of blood glucose levels and then injection of a prescribed dose of insulin based on the blood glucose level. However, the downside of this treatment method is that there is no predictive control. If blood glucose levels are falling and insulin is administered, a hypoglycemic episode may occur. Recent biomedical advancements have resulted in continuous blood glucose monitoring devices as well as insulin pumps. Continuous monitoring allows for finer blood glucose control and can help predict fluctuations in the blood glucose level. Insulin pumps replace the need to administer insulin injections by automatically injecting a prescribed dose, however it requires a blood glucose level input from the patient. In the future, insulin pumps and continuous blood glucose monitors may be integrated forming a closed loop control system which will can replace the body's own faulty control system.

Mathematical modeling for a closed loop insulin delivery system