Diabetes Expo doles out awards, features inventor of 'artificial pancreas'

On Nov. 19, the American Diabetes Expo at Magnuson Park brought together the diabetic community for National Diabetes Awareness Month in Washington state and Seattle.  

About 30 exhibitors shared everything diabetes, from cooking with former Galloping Gourmet, Graham Kerr, to devices allowing diabetics to inhale their insulin, and  the making of an artificial pancreas by 28-year-old Dana Lewis.

Lewis, a Seattle resident, is using  computer algorithms to design constant, safe and accurate glucose testing for the administration of insulin. Lewis received this year’s Diabetes Personified award during the World Diabetes Washington presentation held at the expo. She’s created a program and hardware setup that allows insulin to be administered automatically based on blood sugar testing.

Lewis said her invention is not FDA approved, and that an “official” FDA approved artificial pancreas will come out on the market in the spring of 2017. Lewis stated that over 50 individuals have built their own artificial pancreata by using the online open source of information that she has made available to those in need. There is no profit involved, and there is no official organization promoting her device. Lewis has worked at the W2O marketing agency for one year, focusing her spare time on expanding awareness within the diabetic community about the do-it-yourself system she has created. Information on the DIY artificial pancreas is at openaps.org.

Lewis’ motivation to develop her artificial pancreas was simple — she’s lived with Type 1 diabetes for 14 years. Sometimes she needs to check her blood sugar when she’s asleep, but she discovered she couldn’t count on herself to wake up for her cellphone alarms. Her artificial pancreas system allows her to be tested and treated with appropriate amounts of insulin while she sleeps.

Lewis is one of millions of people living with diabetes. Further, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 86 million American adults have prediabetes. Either condition requires vigilant self-monitoring and, left untreated, can eventually lead to nerve damage, heart disease, blindness and hearing loss.

“It feels like you are chained to a car that you have to learn to drive,” Lewis said.

But she said that meeting other diabetics has given her a sense of community and support. She added that she’s hopeful about the potential benefits of working with others on better technologies for diabetic treatment.

Lewis wasn’t the only person to be recognized by the American Diabetes Expo

Dr. Juana Royster, Anne Dulong, and Dr. Maryam Afkaria were given Community Champion, Outstanding Diabetes Health Care Provider, and Groundbreaking Diabetes Researcher awards, respectively.

Royster, a retired Washington State University health and nutrition instructor, was initially misdiagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic. She sought a second opinion and was eventually properly diagnosed as Type 1. Now she volunteers her time teaching courses on diabetes education at the Central District Senior Center. She is also co-founder of the Kidney Health Fest for African American Families, produced in partnership with Northwest Kidney Centers.

Dulong, a nurse at Seattle Children’s  Hospital, was given the award of Outstanding Diabetes Health Care Provider due in part  to her involvement with the American Diabetes Association on the Safe at School program and her work with parents and school staff training programs about diabetes throughout Washington.