§ Mr. Carter-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what research is being funded by his Department; and what information he has as to research elsewhere, both within the United Kingdom and in other countries, into (a) the continuous monitoring of urine sugar content and (b) the automatic supply or the right balance of insulin; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe research on continuous monitoring of sugar levels which is currently supported by the Medical Research Council, from its grant-in-aid from my Department's science budget, is mainly concerned with sugar levels in blood rather than in urine. Automated infusion systems for insulin are already available; the council's national institute for medical research and clinical research centre are working to develop improved devices which imitate more closely the endogenous secretion of this hormone. At Guy's hospital medical school, the council is also supporting clinical investigations of such devices for improving the metabolic control of diabetes.
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, other studies in this field are being conducted in university departments and medical schools. These studies include work on a system in which the administration of insulin would automatically be controlled by a sugar sensor. Some of these studies are supported by funds made available to the universities by my Department through the University Grants Committee as block grants for teaching or research, while 1 understand that others are supported by charities such as the l3ritish Diabetic Association.
I have no information concerning any similar research in other countries.