Researchers at the University Of Virginia School of Medicine will begin final testing on a device to automatically monitor and regulate blood-sugar levels in people with type 1 diabetes.

The artificial pancreas is designed to monitor and adjust insulin delivery as needed. This prevents people with type 1 diabetes from having to check their blood-sugar levels multiple times a day and inject insulin manually. Final testing will be carried out in two clinical trials at nine locations in the U.S. and Europe in early 2016.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1.25 million Americans have type 1 diabetes.