The top 10 medical disruptors of 2018

1. Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system

The most anticipated disruptor of 2018 will be the hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system, better known as an artificial pancreas. It is the next step in creating a fully-automated delivery system.

In 2016, the FDA approved the first hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system. The system is designed to help manage Type 1 diabetes. It is a fully automated insulin delivery system that connects a continuous glucose monitor with an insulin pump, eliminating the need for people with diabetes having to test and manage their insulin levels themselves. Studies have shown that the system steadies blood glucose levels and has even dropped A1C levels by a half percent.

Jim Young, chair of the Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, said it’s not quite an “artificial pancreas” because it doesn’t perform all of the same functions of a pancreas, but it does handle the insulin function well.

Young also suggests that it has taken so long to get to market because of a “fear of failure” – too much or too little insulin could be a problem.

There are several companies currently in the race to make the first artificial pancreas.

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