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Can the insulin pen be improved??

A

aharvey

Member
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6
I am currently studying art and design at university.
i am now doing my final major project, and have decided to base it on the insulin pen.
i would be very greatful if i could get the views of a wide range of age groups on how they cope with using the insulin pen! also if they have problems with current pens and ways they could be improved.
thank you very much for your help,
A Harvey

Thank you to everyone who has taken thre time to help me.
i have come up with my own design which you can take a look at by clicking on the link below
http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx57 ... banner.jpg

please leave you views n thoughts for one last time,
very much appreciated, thank you very much
A Harvey
 
disposable pens should have half unit measures! or even smaller denominations to enable stricter/more accurate dosage :D
 
Possibly have a range of pens for the disabled or elderly to allow them indepence. I know one lady who can't twist the top of her pen so has to rely on others to set her dose.
 
Yes, could we have one with a built in radio so that I can listen to Radio 2 whilst injecting? :D





Seriously, perhaps one with a voice recorder built in to tell the visually impaired what dose they are dialing up.

Nigel
 
We find that at the end of the injection you often lose a drop or two. When injecting small amounts of insulin, one drop which you lose can represent a large percentage of the required dose - therefore acting predicted blood readings. I have been told that the old syringes once used were better in this respect.
 
leggott said:
We find that at the end of the injection you often lose a drop or two. When injecting small amounts of insulin, one drop which you lose can represent a large percentage of the required dose - therefore acting predicted blood readings. I have been told that the old syringes once used were better in this respect.
Click to expand...

Not sure about the syringes being better than pens in this respect leggott, I seem to remember that you still had insulin at the end of the needle after withdrawing, although it is some years since I used one, so I may be mistaken.

Nigel
 
Hi, it was my husband who said this, but he has been diabetic for some time now and he does admit to having a bad memory at times (especially for our anniversary!). We do find that with the kids, just a small drop at the end can make a big difference, especially if they are only having 2 units. Leggott
 
Of course it will, injecting such small doses could cause a problem.

Nigel
 
this infomation is all very usful, thank you very much!
What about the form, weight of the pen for example or the current function of releasing the insulin??
 
what about wifi interface or bluetooth so that it records your dosgae units and times etc etc..

Cheers
Curleous
 
I find that the current pens have a design more suitable for self-use and as a parent it isn't so great. I'd like a pen that you didn't have to change grip from inserting the needle to pushing the plunger. Another silly adaption would be to put a set of pincers on the end to squeeze up the skin so you can inject with one hand. I think I'd like the pen to be shorter/fatter also and have a wind down cap rather than the seperate lid. My pens are not disposable.
 
If we mis-dial the dose to too much insulin then we must either squirt out the excess insulin (wasteful) or unscrew the pen to reset the dial (a nuisance). It would be nice to have a button or some way of saying error so that the pen can be reset quickly without waste.

The plunger never seems to go right to the end of the insulin vial so we often get caught out half way through an injection to realise that the insulin is finished but the whole dose hasn't been administered. It would be useful if the pen could make a clicking sound or some sort of alarm to make us aware that there are a predetermined number of units left.

Turning the dial whilst injecting is awkward for my daughter, it would be much easier if she could press a button and the insulin will self inject with her only having to hold the pen in place whilst the dial turns for her.

The Novofine Autocover needles look brilliant, but unfortunately they are only available in 8mm length as opposed to the 6mm needles we use. It would be nice to have these type of needles available in the smaller 31G 6mm size. This type of needle would be particularly beneficial for children who are handling needles at school. It would also help children who are anxious about needles as the needle remains covered whilst injecting.

A wider variety of colours for pens would be great, particularly for children. Also a funkier looking pen pouch would be nice for children.

All the best with your project :)
 
Sophia,

What sort of pen do you use that you can't reset the dose. I can pull my pens slightly apart and then push the plunger against the bench to reset it. I thought they could all do this? My pen also has the number of units remaining down the side window of the pen and it is recommended that when the plunger can be seen in the last bottom window that the vial be changed.

Khaleb's pens are the Novopen3 Demi.

I am also unable to purchase syringe/needle sets in 6mm. I've never actually used the box of 8mm I have here and I only keep them is case of emergency and spares for the hypo kit.
 
My perfect insulin pen;

1. Available in a choice of colours
2. Have the plunger/button deliver a dose quickly (like on novopen 4 and autopen classic) and not the click by click type (novopen 3 demi and flexpen).
3. Be available in half or even quarter unit divisions
4. A large viewing window so you can see the cartridge well. With the autopen classic, I can't really tell if I have shaken the insulin well enough (it's meant to be cloudy)
5. A nice case to put it in - without velcro!
6. When replacing the cartridge, I like to just push the piston rod back in place (novopen 4) rather than having to turn it a lot (novopen 3 demi).

People obviously have different requirements, eg children and the less dexterous so I do think there should be a wider choice of pens to suit different people and have all the cartridges a standard size so that you can choose which pen is best for you.
 
aharvey said:
Thank you very much every1, i will take all your points into consideration when designing.
is their enything else??
Click to expand...

Any more information then we start charging! :wink:

Nigel
 
Guys,
as you know i'm T2 and use minimal Metformin ONLY, but I was once a scientist and used pipettes and burettes to transfer liquids freuently. Because of capillarity and surfcace tension, there is always a drop of liquid left in the device. The thing is, that's allowed for. The device is calibrated "to deliver,X amount of liquid". Are pens not made that way too? It might be worth checking and also if they are not, they should be. You can't change physics.
Hana
 
Hi Jen, I use the Novopen Junior and I too can take it apart to reset it, but I don't want to have to do that. I don't mind taking the pen apart to reset it but when Jess makes a mistake dialling up the insulin it becomes confusing for her to have to take the pen apart to reset it. Would just be easier for her if there was a button to press to reset the pen. Our pen also shows how many units are left but the plunger never takes us to the bottom, sometimes it runs out when the plunger has only just entered the last bottom window. If we forget to look at where the plunger is then we can get caught out. If the pen made an audible sound (e.g. clicking) once the plunger reaches that last bottom window then it would be a reminder for those of us who forget to look at where the plunger is.

A pen case that doesn't have velcro is a nice idea. Velcro can be noisy when you're in a particularly quiet place.
 
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