Nearly 900 patients with type 1 diabetes in England are testing a potentially life-changing artificial pancreas.
It can eliminate the need for finger prick tests and prevent life-threatening hypoglycaemic attacks, where blood sugar levels fall too low.
The technology uses a sensor under the skin.
It continually monitors the levels, and a pump automatically adjusts the amount of insulin required.
Six-year-old Charlotte, from Lancashire, is one of more than 200 children using the hybrid closed loop system.
Her mother, Ange Abbott, told us it has made a massive impact on the whole family.
"Prior to having the loop, everything was manual," she said. "At night we'd have to set the alarm every two hours to do finger pricks and corrections of insulin in order to deal with the ups and downs of Charlotte's blood sugars."
About 400,000 people in the UK have type 1 diabetes, a condition where the body can't produce insulin, the hormone which regulates blood sugar levels.
NHS England says it is the first nationwide test of the technology in the world, and it comes 100 years after the first diabetes patient received insulin injections.
The hybrid system is not completely automated, because the amount of carbohydrates being eaten at mealtimes needs to be inputted.
Charlotte's consultant Dr May Ng, a paediatric endocrinologist at Ormskirk District General Hospital, thinks the new technology has huge potential.
"I think it's absolutely fantastic. I've been practising for 25 years in children's diabetes and it's a game-changer," she said.
"To be able to improve the quality of life, to be able to see that most of their blood glucose readings are within that target range, it's very exciting."
For Ange, the constant monitoring means that Charlotte can go back to being the child she was.
"She loves days out with her friends and sleepovers, but we had to stop these as soon as she was diagnosed because other people couldn't manage her diabetes.
"Now we can allow her to go out for these social occasions when we're not there."
Yasmin was keen to try out the new technology
Yasmin Hopkins, 27, from London, has also received an artificial pancreas as part of the pilot.
She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 15 years ago and had struggled to maintain her blood sugar levels.
Yasmin told us she finds the new technology liberating.
"I wake up now and I can do a normal day's work, or go on a dog walk without being concerned," she said.
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Source: BBC
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