Artificial Pancreas that Shakes Off Attacking Immune Cells
“Researchers at MIT have developed a method that could be used to ensure long-lasting medical device implants do not trigger an immune response. The aim of their research is to allow implants to keep working without being rejected by the body. They pointed to a specific use case: artificial pancreas implants that periodically release insulin under the skin to help treat diabetes without daily injections or inserted tubes. But so far product developers have been blocked by the body’s immune system, which would grow a defensive layer of scar tissue around the device, effectively sealing it off and restricting the doses of insulin. To overcome this foreign-body response, MIT researchers built a soft, robotically powered device that can inflate and deflate. Every 12 hours the implant can quickly expand and contract to shake off the build-up of immune cells.” MORE
Image Credit: MIT News Office