count ,, , “ ., ., a system which can transform the lives of people with type 1 diabetes is being trialed in a number of hospitals across the north west. the artificial pancreas delivers the right amount of insulin to control blood sugar levels. ultimately, it could be available on the nhs. here s our health correspondent gill dummigan. as a trainee surgeon, holly is meticulous about hygiene. when i am scrubbed and doing an operation, everything around me is sterile. the only thing i can touch is the sterile field. so i can only touch the patient and the blue drapes there around the patient and my instruments. as a type one diabetic, holly is constantly having to manage her blood sugar level and control it with insulin. a person with type one diabetes has to calculate all the carbohydrates, they have to take into account what their blood glucose level is, what their insulin and correction factors are. what their carbohydrate ratios are. and then they have to work out the dose of in
which you can check. hey, siri. simply by asking siri. what is my glucose? 0k, viewing. you are 5.9 and steady. the monitor holly uses has to be replaced every ten days and costs around £200 a month. but most people have to pay for that themselves. so this huge trial, the first of its type in the world, is going on at hospitals around the country. to see whether it should be funded by the nhs. the majority of those people have already said how much it has change their lives. notjust around bringing blood glucose levels down to their individual goals but also their quality of life. many like holly are hoping the artificial pancreas, it is called, will eventually be funded by the nhs. it has really been life changing for me and itjust gives me that insurance that whatever i m doing whether it is surgery or sport, or watching tv, the pump has my diabetes under control. the trial runs until november. gill dummigan, bbc north west.
condition called mld, which causes severe damage to a child s nervous system and organs. gill dummigan has been finding out more about it from a family in cumbria. in cumbria, joe isjust a typical 11 year old. he loves computer games along with a bit of sport. paddle boarding. i enjoy doing a little bit of kayaking. butjoe s life has been anything but normal. at four years old he was diagnosed with mld, an incredibly rare progressive disorder, along with his oldest sister. there is a huge element of grief and guilt and i think you are injust a complete sense of shock. this is too unbelievable to think it has happened once, but for it to happen a second time, itjust defies belief. connie was already showing symptoms, but becausejoe wasn t, he was able to start an experimental