Yale-Harvard Hotel-based Closed-Loop Studies in Children (HY-GRAID)

The artificial pancreas platform employed under study is centered about the following four key innovations: 1) A zone model predictive control strategy that is at the same time very safe with respect to hypoglycemia, and can simultaneously and independently be tuned with respect to its response to hyperglycemia; 2) Zone control with diurnal blood-glucose target zones; 3) Models of insulin-glucose physiology and insulin on board; 4) A system for alarming and notification of impending hypoglycemia and technical malfunctions: the Health Monitoring System. These features have been evaluated in several clinical trials in adults with unannounced meals and exercise. The proposed study will evaluate enhancements to our previous system tailored for the special needs of pediatric subjects: 1) A control strategy with responses to hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia spanning wide ranges, as is typical with children; 2) The use of time-dependent zones specific for pediatric subjects; 3) The development of models for young children, capturing the greater physiologic variability, and ensuring cautious insulin delivery; 4) remote alarming and notification systems that are useful to parents.