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Type 1 diabetes is a huge epidemic in the United States.
There's more than two and a half million people
here that are affected with the disease.
And unfortunately, most often, it's affecting young children.
Diabetes is all about optimization
of blood sugar levels, keeping them within a certain range.
That requires pretty difficult mathematical calculation
of the exact dosing of insulin.
And this is exactly what the so-called artificial pancreas
aims to automate.
The artificial pancreas really is a system
that listens to a patient's blood sugar,
just like your pancreas does, and tries
to predict and anticipate what may happen next.
But the key element for this technology
is this little mathematical brain
that directs insulin delivery and controls
the diabetes of a person.
For a patient, they would wear their normal continuous blood
glucose monitor.
They would wear their insulin pump.
And then, they would use a mobile phone.
And that is what is listening to those devices.
So for them, it truly is just any other application
on their phone.
We did start up a company named [INAUDIBLE] Technologies.
What we are providing is the means
to automate the control of diabetes to make it optimal,
to avoid complications, to avoid scary situations.
We're trying to help reduce the mental burden as well
as the activity burden for the individual.
We have the opportunity to use some of this amazing technology
that came from UVA.
And for us, it's about making sure
that we live up to that obligation
and get it out there.
People are testing the system.
And they getting used to it reasonably fast.
There's no more question about if.
It's just a function of when.
Very soon, there will be a smartphone app
that will take care of someone's diabetes.
This will change our lives.
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