# Attention Networks for Personalized Mealtime Insulin Dosing in People with Type 1 Diabetes

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.14579 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14579/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 3 of its 18 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 18 Jun 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.06347/) (2017)
- [Using Reinforcement Learning to Simplify Mealtime Insulin Dosing for People with Type 1 Diabetes: In-Silico Experiments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.09125/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [A Comparative Study of Transformer-Based Models for Multi-Horizon Blood Glucose Prediction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.08821/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Calculating mealtime insulin doses poses a significant challenge for individuals with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Doses should perfectly compensate for expected post-meal glucose excursions, requiring a profound understanding of the individual's insulin sensitivity and the meal macronutrients'. Usually, people rely on intuition and experience to develop this understanding. In this work, we demonstrate how a reinforcement learning agent, employing a self-attention encoder network, can effectively mimic and enhance this intuitive process. Trained on 80 virtual subjects from the FDA-approved UVA/Padova T1D adult cohort and tested on twenty, self-attention demonstrates superior performance compared to other network architectures. Results reveal a significant reduction in glycemic risk, from 16.5 to 9.6 in scenarios using sensor-augmented pump and from 9.1 to 6.7 in scenarios using automated insulin delivery. This new paradigm bypasses conventional therapy parameters, offering the potential to simplify treatment and promising improved quality of life and glycemic outcomes for people with T1D.