Figure 2.

The three components of an artificial pancreas: glucose sensor, control system, and insulin pump.

(1) The continuous glucose monitoring constantly detects interstitial glucose levels. (2) Continuous glucose monitoring then transmits wirelessly these levels to hormonal dosing algorithm (usually installed on a smart phone). (3) Accordingly, the hormonal dosing algorithm calculates the optimal hormone dose and transmits wirelessly guides dosing changes to pump. (4) The single-insulin pump or dual-hormone pump (insulin and glucagon) then delivers the required hormonal dosage (basal rate changes ± boluses) to the patient. (5) Note that the patient may be able to manually intervene when needed and self-adjust hormonal delivery by the pump. (6) Patient’s glucose levels vary widely due to external factors, such as meals, levels of activity, stressors, as well as internally due to endogenous hormonal and metabolic changes.