Implant of New Insulin Pump Held a Success

Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital announced Tuesday the first successful implant of a new insulin pump, a device they say could help the 1 million insulin-dependent diabetics in the United States.

Physicians said Jackson Piotrow, of Bethesda, Md., received the pump last week during a 45-minute operation and appears to be doing well with the device.

“The programmable implant pump shows promise of being exceptionally convenient,” said Piotrow, an American University professor who has had diabetes for 26 years. He has used an exterior pump for the last two years.

Under Skin of Abdomen

Developers said the pump, which is implanted under the skin of the abdomen, differs from other implantable insulin devices that have been tested because it is programmable and has a long life.

The new pump is also an improvement over external insulin delivery systems, which now are used by about 10,000 Americans, because it has no potentially leaky line leading into the body or needles to pierce the skin, providing opportunity for infection.

The device, which is a computerized titanium disc that can be reprogrammed without being removed from the body, uses technology developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The space agency used a similar design on the Mars Viking spacecraft to deliver a culture medium onto Martian soil.

Robert Fischell, the Johns Hopkins scientist given credit for inventing the pump, said the infusion system may eventually be used to pump painkillers directly into the spines of terminal cancer patients and to treat patients with sex hormone dysfunctions.

Developers estimated the insulin pump will cost about $7,000, without the cost of surgery or insulin. Diabetics who receive the pump will have to return to a doctor every three months to have its insulin reservoir refilled by an external needle.