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External artificial pancreas improves glucose control and reduces the risk of hypoglycemia compared to conventional diabetes treatment, according to world's first clinical trial that compared three alternative treatments for type 1 diabetes. 

An emerging technology to treat type 1 diabetes, the external artificial pancreas is an automated system that simulates the normal pancreas by continuously adapting insulin delivery based on changes in glucose levels, the press release explained. 

"Our clinical trial was the first to compare these two configurations of the artificial pancreas with the conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump," said Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret, Director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Diabetes research clinic at the IRCM and professor at the University of Montreal's Department of Nutrition, in the press release. "We wanted to determine the usefulness of glucagon in the artificial pancreas, especially to prevent hypoglycemia, which remains the major barrier to reaching glycemic targets."

"Our study confirms that both artificial pancreas systems improve glucose control and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia compared to conventional pump therapy," explained engineer Ahmad Haidar, first author of the study. "In addition, we found that the dual-hormone artificial pancreas provides additional reduction in hypoglycemia compared to the single-hormone system."

The findings of the clinical trial were published in the scientific journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.