FDA Approves First Artificial Pancreas Faster Than Anyone Expected

"My guess is that even Medtronic is surprised." So said Jeffrey Brewer, the visionary tech entrepreneur who has been leading efforts to bring an artificial pancreas to market for a decade, in response to the unexpected news on Sept. 28 that the Food and Drug Administration approved one developed by Medtronic, already a leading manufacturer of insulin pumps. A mere two weeks earlier, results were released of the largest and longest study yet of the device that fuses two existing technol