Invasive and Implantable Glucose Sensors: Perspective for the Artificial Pancreas

Abstract

The development of accurate, sensitive and sustainable glucose sensors for continuous glucose monitoring is key in the achievement of fully automated insulin delivery systems, a.k.a. an ‘artificial pancreas’. In this chapter, we present the latest in-development technologies that could upgrade continuous glucose monitoring in the next few years, and highlight the specific innovative features of the resulting devices that could help in implementing fully automated closed-loop systems. The current innovations in nanotechnologies have enabled the development of new materials and coatings for highly sensitive, painless and flexible microneedles. Miniaturization of fully implantable sensors is expected to promote an increased lifetime of the devices thanks to a reduced foreign body response, while also allowing a microvascularization around the sensor that reduces sensor lag time and increases its accuracy. Intraperitoneal space could allow even better performance, but the associated invasiveness of the implantation makes this option less acceptable in terms of costs–benefit unless a long duration of use is possible and is still less explored by academic and industrial research.