Seventeen children ages 5 to 18 in a hospital setting participated in the research project, each spending 33 nights using the artificial pancreas (closed-loop infusion) and 21 nights using traditional treatment (continuous infusion).

Researchers from Cambridge University have been developing the system for years, and they couldn’t be happier with the results. The system proved more effective than traditional insulin pumps at regulating glucose.

"These devices could transform the management of type 1 diabetes, but it is likely to be a gradual process," research leader Roman Hovorka of Cambridge said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

Rather than taking injections at every meal, the system checks glucose levels every 15 minutes and delivers insulin accordingly. It was especially effective in regulating nighttime hypoglycemia, maintaining normal levels 60 percent of the time, compared to 40 percent with the pump alone.

Nighttime hypoglycemia occurs when blood glucose falls below normal levels. It is often the result of changes in insulin metabolism (i.e., due to exercise), and can be difficult to balance for people with type 1diabetes.

Hovorka says these studies will help people maintain good control and improve quality of life for people with type 1 diabetes by reducing the risk of hypoglycemia.

"These results suggest that closed-loop devices may be able to significantly lower the patient's risk of developing complications later in life by reducing or even overcoming the burden of hypoglycemia," Hovorka said in a news release from The Lancet.

Test your knowledge on dining out with diabetes or read the study’s abstract in The Lancet.