March 2015: Insulin Pumps: Closer to a Pancreas
Insulin pumps are designed to deliver insulin similar to the way a human pancreas does: A little bit trickles out most of the time to handle the body’s constant metabolism needs (called “basal” infusion), while a larger dose (a “bolus”) is given before meals. Unlike insulin injections, pumps can be programmed to automatically deliver different basal rates for different times of the day, just as the human pancreas does.

