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Along those lines it seems like an artificial pancreas could be made in a similar fashion and end Type 1 diabetes.
by nsxwolf 9y ago
Along those lines it seems like an artificial pancreas could be made in a similar fashion and end Type 1 diabetes.
- wayn3 9y agoAn artificial pancreas can solve a lot more problems than just type 1 diabetes :)
- defined 9y agoAlthough this also would be a huge boon for Type 2 diabetics like me, I thought that the pancreas generated insulin from the Islets of Langerhans (or something like that - IANAB), which sounds a lot more complex to replicate than a scaffolding to support egg precursors - but this may just be my ignorance. Is there any progress in this regard that you could point me to?
- nanofortnight 9y agoPancreatic islet transplantation is already a thing. Islets are isolated and are introduced into the portal circulation. They embed themselves into the liver. This is normally only done in patients with brittle diabetes because of the need for immunosuppression. This is a less complex procedure than a full pancreas transplant.
- defined 9y agoThanks, that's informative. It doesn't seem like a 3D printing application, though, am I right?