iLet - a "bionic pancreas"

The iLet (photo from Time)

Recently my biomedical engineering students had projects reporting recent innovations in their field that they were interested in. One of the students chose to write about the iLet - a bionic (or artificial) pancreas from the company Beta Bionics. The pancreas regulates the level of blood sugar, and so an artificial pancreas that makes this process automatic would make a big difference in the life of diabetics.

A recent article in Time magazine reports on this innovation. The article is short and fairly simple, but offers a variety of interesting language features that would be useful for students writing news or a report about an innovation.

Link to article, "The Bionic Pancreas is Getting Closer to Reality":
http://time.com/4278068/bionic-pancreas-company/?xid=newsletter-brief

The website includes a video (2:57) that explains the story behind the development of the device, and how it works. It is explained by the developer, Ed Damiano, a professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, USA. The speaking is clear and at a good tempo, with no loud or distracting background music.

There are a few informal phrases in the article that my students didn't know, but were able to figure out in context:

• the race is on for
• (he) has spun (his academic research) into
• secured $5 million from
• (the company) is in the game
• a twenty-four-seven deal

There are useful contrasts of verb tenses, including the use of the present progressive to indicate a trend or something happening currently (not necessarily at the "moment of speaking," as my students usually assume):

• a professor ... who is developing a bionic pancreas
• People with diabetes are constantly tracking and adjusting their blood sugar
• Other research groups are developing similar technology
• we're getting closer

There are also uses of both the simple past and present perfect tenses, which my students often confuse:

• announced at the annual meeting that he's launched a company
• (he) has spun his academic research into ...
• Recently, Beta Bionics secured $5 million from ...
• Damiano was inspired to ...
• ...his son David was diagnosed
• Damiano incorporated Beta Bionics as a benefit corporation
• researchers... announced in January that ...

Finally, there are three very good examples of how to incorporate an explanation into writing:

• People with diabetes are constantly tracking and adjusting their blood sugar with insulin or food. A bionic pancreas would automate that process.
• Damiano incorporated Beta Bionics as a benefit corporation. A benefit corporation allows companies to have a protected public-benefit mission. "It's a for-profit organization but you are allowed to make management decisions that are in the interest of your mission that may or may not maximize return of equity to shareholders," explains Damiano.
• One of the differences between Beta Bionics' device and others is that instead of offering automated insulin delivery only, Beta Bionics' also releases glucagon, which allows poeple to bring up their blood sugar without eating a snack.

As always, I find it useful to combine an article about something that students find interesting with my focus on their language development - especially features that they can use in their own writing or presentations.