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In a closed-loop insulin-delivery system (the “artificial β cell”), a diabetic patient's blood glucose is monitored continuously by a subcutaneous sensor, and an algorithm continuously adjusts insulin infusion rates though an insulin pump; wireless communication connects the sensor and pump. Early studies of this technology have been conducted in highly controlled environments for short periods of time (NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 1 2014 and N Engl J Med 2014; 371:313). Now, European researchers have performed a crossover trial in which type 1 diabetic patients each used, in random order, a closed-loop system for 12 weeks and a control intervention for 12 weeks. The control intervention was insulin-pump therapy augmented by a glucose sensor that in…