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this

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hockey puck sized medical device

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represents a dramatic step forward

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in the treatment of diabetes it's called

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pims programmable implantable medication

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system

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all this sophisticated hardware fits

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together in a titanium shell

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to form a computer pump and reservoir

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inventor robert fischell this whole

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computer for pims

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runs on just over one millionth the

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power of a flashlight bulb

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some of the technology was borrowed from

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a pair of viking spacecraft that landed

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on mars

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in the mid 1970s so far about 20

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patients have received the experimental

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implant

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it's inserted just below the skin in the

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abdomen and can be refilled with insulin

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every two to three months the first

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recipient of pims was jack pietro

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a professor at american university's

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school of international service

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in washington dc congressional

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monitoring

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for 28 years jack has had diabetes

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like one million other americans he

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coped with his body's inability to break

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down sugars

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through daily insulin injections

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jack's daily routine includes some tasks

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common to us all

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and some not so common he must do a

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blood sugar test before and after all

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meals and activities

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the reading helps determine how much

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insulin he needs

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after considering what he will eat for

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with this handheld unit information is

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relayed to the pump's computer

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controlling the release of insulin

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once an appropriate dose is entered a

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start command is given

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the two units communicate with each

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other using telemetry

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the same way satellites beam information

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from outer space

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the key to maintaining normal blood

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sugar is through careful regulation of

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diet

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insulin and exercise jack plays tennis

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regularly

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he thinks pins may have helped him win

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last summer's 55 and over baltimore open

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tennis championship

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one of the sort of unsuspected benefits

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for me has been a

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a general upgrading of health i feel

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better

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meet 23 year old melissa frank a lab

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technician in eldersburg maryland

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for as long as she can remember diabetes

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has been part of her life

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melissa regulates her blood sugar with

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insulin injections

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often four times a day but there are

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side effects

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for instance her skin has developed a

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dangerous resistance to absorbing

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insulin properly this results in poor

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blood sugar control

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which can lead to blindness nerve

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disorders liver and heart damage

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this summer melissa is going to have an

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insulin pump implanted

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and is very excited because she has seen

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the difference it has made

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with other patients who have it that's

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why i want it

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because i've had my disease so long now

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i don't want to have complications by

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the time i hit 30.

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pims programmable implantable medication

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system

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using space technology to improve the

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daily lives