Engineers at Oregon State University have used additive manufacturing to create an improved glucose sensor for Type 1 diabetes patients. Matched with portable infusion pumps, the new system monitors blood glucose concentrations, delivers insulin, and maintains safe hormone levels.

With the help of e-jet printing, which uses biological materials like enzymes, the "artificial pancreas" uses a single point of bodily entry. Existing systems require four entry points, usually in a belt worn around the waist.

The disposable devices only last about a week and then need to be replaced. Plastic substrates, the same thickness as kitchen plastic wrap, allow the sensors to be wrapped around a catheter.

Researchers say that the system may ultimately prove valuable for those with Type 2 diabetes as well, and that the technology has the capability of making other biological measurements beyond blood sugar.

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