The problem / issue being addressed is that 20 million people in the world including 2 million people in Europe suffer from Type 1 Diabetes, an autoimmune disease making it impossible for a person's pancreas to produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone that the human body uses to control blood sugar levels. People with Type 1 Diabetes require an external insulin input on a very regular basis. It is supremely difficult for a human brain to accurately predict exactly how much insulin is needed to keep the blood sugar levels in the safe range. Yet it is indispensable. If there is too much insulin, there is not enough sugar, a phenomenon also known as hypoglycemia. A person under hypoglycemia may feel weak, faint, and possibly fall in a coma. If there is not enough insulin, there is too much sugar, a phenomenon also known as hyperglycemia. Hypoglycemia inflicts long-term damages on organs. This is why diabetes is one of the principal causes for amputations, blindness, kidney failures, and other serious complications. Most people who live with Type 1 Diabetes today suffer from a poorly controlled glycemia. A typical person living with diabetes experiences both hypo- and hyperglycemic episodes on a regular basis. The number of people with type 1 diabetes keeps growing at a rate of about 5% per year. It is a major, and growing public health problem across the world.
Our project addresses this problem by bringing to patients a medical device that dramatically improves the blood sugar control of patients.
It is important for society because it can contribute to improving the lives of millions of human beings.
The overall objective of this project is to scale up the commercial development of the DBLG1 System and to make it available to European patients. The goal is to continue improving the device by adding new sophisticated and robust features. Another goal is to kick-start industrialization, by getting ready for production and delivery on a mass scale. Through this project we are also seeking to develop our brand in Europe, as well as awareness of our product.