Product guide written by Diabetes Expert: Sue Marshall
The i-port is an injection port that gives insulin injectors a means to give themselves their doses without having to puncture the skin for each dose. It might also be useful for parents of small children with diabetes
In place for 3 days
Each i-port stays in place for up to three days and does not need to be removed for most daily activities (like taking a bath or shower).
Basically, once you’ve popped one i, you don’t have to do another one for a few days and you use the i-port as the injection site during that period.
Needless needles!
The advantage is that those fearful of needles can use the i-port to deliver insulin making each individual shot less of a drama (if you do think they are a drama). Use of the i-port should encourage better adherence to insulin regimes for those with needle phobia. When applying the i-port, an insertion needle guides a soft cannula (a small, flexible tube) under the skin.
Cannulas
Once applied, the insertion needle is removed and a soft cannula remains below the skin, acting as the gateway into the subcutaneous tissue. When injecting through the i-port, the needle of the syringe or insulin pen remains above the surface of the skin, while the medication is immediately delivered through the soft cannula and into the subcutaneous tissue.
The cannulas come in 6 mm and 9 mm lengths. Needles used with an i-port should not exceed 5/16” (8mm) in length. Each port should be able to handle up to 75 needle sticks over 72 hours (which would be very intensive insulin therapy indeed – you’re likely only to need to do 12-16 over a 3-day timeframe). Each i-port comes packaged individually in a box of 10 devices (roughly a month’s supply).
Catherine Patton – type 1 diabetic
The i-port is a registered trademark of Patton Medical Devices based Austi, Texas. The company was founded by Catherine Patton three years after she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes while pregnant with her first child.
Monday Medical promotes and distributes the i-port in Europe and continues Patton’s tradition by offering support for i-port users and interested medical professionals in all the major European languages.
