Advancement of the Artificial Pancreas through the Development of Interoperability Standards

Despite advancements in the development of the artificial pancreas, barriers in the form of proprietary data and communication protocols of diabetes devices have made the integration of these components challenging. The Artificial Pancreas Standards and Technical Platform Project is an initiative funded by the JDRF Canadian Clinical Trial Network with the goal of developing device communication standards for the interoperability of diabetes devices. Stakeholders from academia, industry, regulatory agencies, and medical and patient communities have been engaged in advancing this effort. In this article, we describe this initiative along with the process involved in working with the standards organizations and stakeholders that are key to ensuring effective standards are developed and adopted. Discussion from a special session of the 12th Annual Diabetes Technology Meeting is also provided. Conclusion This session provided the project team an excellent opportunity to interact with a diverse group of stakeholders and brought a number of new collaborators to the table who will contribute to the initiative. Starting in January 2013, the project team has convened regular meetings with collaborating researchers and industry representatives to discuss the direction of the standards development, focusing on the IEEE-11073 PHD standards for the insulin pump and CGM. Through this ongoing collaboration, the barriers to the interoperability of diabetes devices will eventually be eliminated, fostering greater innovation in the development of the AP and other diabetes management tools.