Diabetes implant controls mouse glucose over six weeks

ETH Zurich researchers reported on Nov. 2 that an experimental electronic implant controlled blood sugar and promoted weight loss in diabetic mice during six weeks of testing, according to ScienceDaily and a Science paper.

The Nov. 2 ScienceDaily report, based on ETH Zurich materials and a Science paper, described an animal-stage approach that also processed glucose in a 5-liter solution, roughly the blood volume of an adult human.

The device is designed for type 2 diabetes, where blood sugar control and excess energy storage can be linked. It does not use insulin or conventional diabetes drugs. Instead, it uses electricity to convert excess glucose into gluconate, a substance the body can eliminate in urine.

Researchers led by Martin Fussenegger, a professor in the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, built the system around an inorganic catalyst rather than living cells, enzymes or engineered genetic networks. The catalyst uses graphite felt covered with tiny gold clusters and smaller platinum particles.

The implant includes an electronic controller in a 3D-printed housing and receives wireless power at 13.56 MHz, a frequency allocated internationally for industrial, scientific and medical uses. A glucose sensor tracks tissue glucose, then sends information through Bluetooth to a smartphone or smartwatch that activates the implant when levels rise.

That feedback design is known as closed-loop control, meaning the system adjusts itself based on measured glucose levels. The device is intended to switch off when glucose returns to the target range, reducing the risk that it keeps lowering blood sugar after it is no longer needed.

“The system operates at a very low voltage, and our experiments showed no evidence of tissue damage from either electrical or thermal effects,” Fussenegger said, according to ScienceDaily.

The mouse experiments showed blood sugar regulation and weight loss, according to the report. The ScienceDaily account did not provide the number of mice, the size of the glucose change, the amount of weight lost, confidence intervals, funding information or declared conflicts.

The study cannot show whether the implant is safe, durable or effective in people with type 2 diabetes.

The proposed benefit also differs from insulin’s usual role. Insulin helps move glucose from blood into cells, while this device aims to remove part of the excess glucose load by converting it before it can be metabolized or stored.

Fussenegger said the approach points to a different treatment model. “For decades, we have treated diabetes by telling the body how to manage glucose. We are now showing that we can take control of glucose directly, using electronics rather than drugs,” he said.

“And the catalyst only activates when glucose levels are too high.”

The researchers’ next objective is to develop the experimental implant into a medical device for further development and eventual clinical testing, according to ScienceDaily. No dated human trial or regulatory milestone was provided.

Source: ScienceDaily Health article based on ETH Zurich materials and Science paper, Nov. 2, 2026.

Atlas360 reports health research and does not provide medical advice.