AMK said:

I am dismayed by the apparent lack of responses to this topic

Not just "apparent", but real! However, I only occasionally go beyond the BS 7671 discussions.

I would say that the issue of maintaining a reasonably safe blood glucose range between hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis has been helped greatly by engineering approaches such as insulin pumps and devices such as Libre, but an equally important issue is the prevention of complications such as retinopathy, and cardiovascular and renal disease.

I am not sure that I would call islet cell transplantation an "engineering" solution.

Hello Chris, thanks for the reply. Just picking up on retinopathy,  medical lasers to seal or destroy the faulty blood vessels that affect vision, (laser photocoagulation) was a groundbreaking treatment for diabetic retinopathy that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when lasers were first used for eye-related applications.

But this treatment can result in loss of side vision, difficulty seeing at night, reduced ability to distinguish colors, and swelling of the central part of the retina.

So why do we still depend on a treatment from the sixties?

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/research perhaps?

   - Andy.

How about artificial groups of cells that can produce insulin. These artificial groups of cells are like tiny balls that have cells inside them that act like the ones in the pancreas. And then use these artificial groups of cells to replace the ones that are not working well in people with diabetes. This way, we might be able to help more people with diabetes, because we don’t have to wait for someone to donate their pancreas, and we might be able to avoid the problems that happen when the body rejects the new cells.

AMK said:

So why do we still depend on a treatment from the sixties?

I don't think that electrickery has changed a lot over the past 100 years.

The operation of my newest car (2021) is little different from my oldest one (1930).

The laws of physics have not changed, but I am staggered by the quality of photos taken by modern telephones (not cameras!) so perhaps modern laser treatment of the retina has also become more precise?

Problem with pancreas transplantation is that somebody has to die first.

If we could inject, let's say, cells which can produce insulin; and if they could survive like seeds planted in the soil, how would their output be controlled?

I am not sure that engineering is the right discipline here even though it has obviously contributed greatly in e.g. joint replacement surgery. (The surgery is the easy bit!)

I'm not sure who you think reads this forum,  or how you expect them to be able to respond, though if you click on the names of posters you may get some idea of folks various specializations - at least those who  have mastered uploading a profile.

My personal expertise area is pushing electrons about, and laser optics with a side deviation into explosives and military kit. I flunked biology at O level and now, at age 56 I still have never even been in a hospital as a patient, unless you count a visit to A and E, ~I know of one person at work who is diabetic but that is about all I know about it, and so I am sorry but I am not your man for the diabetes question - you might as well ask me about using engineering to improve ballet or football games - so I  have not responded, and I fear some others are in a similar position.

I suggest to get helpful responses, you need to reach an audience of folk who understand and deal with the biological side of human medical stuff on a regular basis and understand it in some depth - and that will probably  not be that many at the IET. BMA perhaps ?  Or you need to explain the detail of some part of an actual problem at a simplified level, shorn of specialist terms so that we can engage, and you are even then likely to only get a lot of ideas that have already been had years ago by those more skilled in those areas.

I'm pretty sure that haranguing folk who have decided not to respond,as they really have nothing useful to offer, is not going to help.

Mike.

Hello, I’m sorry if I seemed too persistent or annoying, (Haranguing) that’s a nice word by the way. I thought being new and this being the institution of engineering and technology, I might get some help. I apologize if I offended anyone, that was never my intention. I will look for other sources in the future.

AMK Ah, now I'm sorry, as that clearly was not taken quite the way I meant it. Rather I was trying to explain that there is not some great pool of knowledge that is deliberately not talking to you - just that when folk are quiet they probably really do not know, or do not feel confident to answer.  I admit I may have been a bit clumsy with the way I said it.

M.

It’s sound, I get where you’re coming from. You weren’t having a go at me. You were just telling it like it is. I rate your opinion and your knowledge. Nice one for sharing it with me.