BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of diabetes patients are switching to new sensors that keep track of their disease around the clock rather than prick their fingers several times a day.

    Federal health officials during the last six months have approved children's use of a sensor that works for three days in a row — and cleared the longest-lasting version yet, a seven-day model, for adults.

    The target is to create an "artificial pancreas," pairing such sensors with implanted pumps that would automatically dispense insulin to make a diabetic's blood sugar more like a healthy person's.

    That’s still years away. For now, the hope is that these under-the-skin sensors will empower the most vulnerable patients — those who require insulin injections — to make changes that better control their disease. Perhaps more important, they come with alarms that can sound in time to avoid dangerously high or low blood-sugar levels.

    "It really catches problems before they're problems," says Katie Clark of Grandville, Michigan. She bought a sensor for her 7-year-old daughter, and no longer has to wake up in the middle of the night to see if her daughter is OK.

    But these "continuous glucose monitors" cost up to 1,000 U.S. dollars, plus at least 350 dollars a month for supplies. Insurance coverage is hit-or-miss: Some do pay but many refuse pending proof that the sensors live up to their promise of better health.

    Some short-term studies show users greatly improve control of their blood sugar, while other studies have found little impact.

    Scientists should complete enrollment of 450 diabetics into a study by November funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to address insurers’questions on best use of the sensors. Preliminary results are due next year.

    (Agencies)