The characteristics of a new glucose sensor for use in an artificial pancreatic beta cell.

A new glucose sensor has been developed for the continuous extracorporeal monitoring of blood glucose concentrations in conjunction with an artificial pancreatic beta cell simulator. This sensor has a rapid ninety percent response time (less than 1 min), is stable for periods of up to 140 hours of accumulated use and can be calibrated without the use of a reference glucose analyzer. Its reliability has been confirmed in over 100 clinical studies. A comparison of this sensor to other glucose sensors designed for artificial pancreatic beta cell devices is made and the sensor is shown to be the most advanced glucose sensor presently available for extracorporeal continuous glucose monitoring in man.