• Andrew Thurston

    Editor, The Brink Twitter Profile

    Photo of Andrew Thurston, a white man with black glasses. He smiles and wears a maroon polo shirt.

    Andrew Thurston is originally from England, but has grown to appreciate the serial comma and the Red Sox, while keeping his accent (mostly) and love of West Ham United. He joined BU in 2007, and is the editor of the University’s research news site, The Brink; he was formerly director of alumni publications. Before joining BU, he edited consumer and business magazines, including for corporations, nonprofits, and the UK government. His work has won awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, the In-House Agency Forum, Folio:, and the British Association of Communicators in Business. Andrew has a bachelor’s degree in English and related literature from the University of York. Profile

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There are 4 comments on FDA Clears Bionic Pancreas Developed in BU Lab for People with Type 1 Diabetes

  1. Congratulations! I heard about the FDA’s approval yesterday via JDRF’s “Insider News.” Such an accomplishment to benefit those of us with Type 1 (in my case, now more than 6 decades with its challenges). Have followed all your dedicated activity with this project since we connected at BU before my retirement a few years back.

  2. This is a great advancement for newly diagnosed diabetics and those who want to worry less about their carb counting. I personally would have loved to have this during my first few years as a diabetic, since it was definitely a struggle figuring out carb counting . However, I’m not a huge fan of the lack of control which it provides users. The meal bolusing system of “Usual for me” and “More/Less” feels far too general and doesn’t account for factors like fats and protein, since they explicitly tell users to ignore these variables and just focus on carbs. Fats and proteins play a significant role in blood glucose fluctuations, and experienced diabetics will know about this and bolus accordingly. In addition, there is no way to tell the pump that you’re exercising. In fact, their user guide says that you must shut off the pump before beginning exercise, since eating before the workout will not work. I probably won’t make the switch over to this new pump for now but I would definitely recommend this for new diabetics. For me, this technology still has a long way to go before it can truly be labeled as a bionic pancreas.

  3. This is a great achievement! How does this compare with an insulin pump and a sensor? I have had Type 1 for 53 years. I rely on my CGM and T Slim 2x to maintain my basal rates and bolus algorithms.

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