Intro
In the 1970s, the Sony Walkman music player provided inspiration for another portable device: a lightweight, wearable pump that transformed the lives of people with diabetes.
Diabetes is a condition in which your body can’t make enough insulin, or your insulin doesn’t work properly. The pump, developed at the National Institute for Medical Research, provided regular doses of this essential hormone, mimicking the processes of a human pancreas.
Small enough to carry around (about the size of one of today’s mobile phones), this technology gave people more control over their condition – and their lives – than ever before.
Early insulin pump
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Today
Today
The National Institute for Medical Research is now part of the Francis Crick Institute.
Here, Vivian Li is using new technologies to make lab-grown intestines that could be used to replace damaged intestinal tissue in patients with certain digestive disorders.