Doctoral students Alan Chiu, left, and Duo An hold a sample of TRAFFIC (Thread-Reinforced Alginate Fiber for Islets enCapsulation). In the background, left to right, are Minglin Ma, Dan Luo, Meredith Silberstein, and Dr James Flanders.

A series of early experiments evaluating TRAFFIC, published ahead of print in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed the biocompatible device provided symptom control in mice with chemically-induced diabetes for 3 to 4 months. The study also demonstrated that the device could be scaled up for larger animals and that it could be easily removed through minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, following successful tests on dogs.

If the technology advances to human testing, the group plans to implant approximately 6 feet of TRAFFIC thread into a patient’s peritoneal cavity, a space between the linings of the abdominal wall and the tissue surrounding the internal organs.

TRAFFIC has received patent protection under the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, who also collaborated on its development.