An implantable sensor that continuously monitors glucose levels has worked for more than a year in a pig, raising hopes for use in people with diabetes, researchers report.

The findings could one day eliminate the need for people with diabetes to poke themselves several times a day to draw a drop of blood to check blood sugar levels.

'There are parents with diabetic children who spend their nights worrying that their child in a nearby bedroom may go into nocturnal hypoglycemia.'— David Gough

The study, published in Wednesday's issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes the use of an implant that senses glucose levels in the tissues of laboratory animals and wirelessly transmitted data.

The device didn't need to be recalibrated daily with a standard glucose meter and finger stick as current continuous glucose monitors do. The engineers aim to have pumps that automatically adjust the rate of insulin delivery based on glucose readings from the implanted sensors.

"You can run the device for a year or more with it constantly working, and recording glucose quite satisfactorily," said study author David Gough, a bioengineering professor at the University of California San Diego.

"We hope to begin the first human trial within in a few months," he added in a release.

The pigs in the study initially weren't diabetic, but they were given a medication to destroy their insulin-producing cells — creating animal models of Type 1 diabetes.

In the study, the device worked in one pig for more than a year, and in another pig for nearly 10 months.

The implant used in the pig study is about 3.8 centimetres in diameter and 1.58 centimetres thick.

Artificial pancreas

The findings are a step forward for researchers aiming to develop an artificial pancreas that takes over the organ's job of handling blood sugar.

Ultimately, the goal is to limit the dangerous ups and downs of blood glucose levels, the researchers said. If too much insulin occurs, hypoglycemia or dangerously low blood sugar can send patients into a coma.

"There are parents with diabetic children who spend their nights worrying that their child in a nearby bedroom may go into nocturnal hypoglycemia," said Gough, founder of GlySens, a company that is manufacturing the new glucose monitor.

"An implanted sensor could wake a parent if the child's glucose levels dropped to a dangerous level."

Other implantable glucose sensors are also in the works using different technology.

The study was funded by the bioengineering department at the University of California, San Diego and GlySens Incorporated, with support from the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.