Artificial endocrine pancreas (closed-loop-system for blood sugar control in diabetes mellitus): introduction to the subject.

Clearly, continuous blood glucose monitoring by portable instruments is the only and absolute prerequisite for unprejudiced evaluation of the various strategies for substitution of insulin deficiency in any form of diabetes mellitus. Continuous blood or tissue glucose monitoring remain the prerequisite for reestablishing a satisfactory feedback control mechanism between insulin secretion and blood glucose concentration in any nondiabetic patient. Loss of first-phase insulin secretion produces defects in regulation of carbohydrate metabolism, as in type II diabetic human subjects. All efforts to solve this important problem are justified.