Insulin pen

An insulin pen is used to inject insulin for the treatment of diabetes. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. It is composed of an insulin cartridge (integrated or bought separately) and a dial to measure the dose, and is used with disposable pen needles to deliver the dose. It was introduced and marketed as NovoPen by the Danish company Novo Nordisk in 1985.

A number of companies make insulin pens including Novo Nordisk, Aventis and Eli Lilly. These companies produce pens for most of their insulins, including NovoLog/NovoRapid, Humalog, Levemir and Lantus.

There are two pen systems: durable and prefilled:

Most brands of insulin are now available for use in pens, these include:

Insulin pens are used by 95% of insulin-treated patients in Europe, Asia, Australia and Scandinavia with excellent results. They are currently underutilized but growing in use in the United States.

Insulin pens offer several significant advantages over insulin syringes: ease of handling, accuracy, and they are more discreet to use and easier to transport.

Insulin pens have a number of advantages:

It is important that proper injection sites on the body be used. A healthcare provider helps determine the best injection site for a patient. In general, recommended injection sites include the abdomen, parts of the buttocks, parts of the upper arms and thigh areas.

Unlike with the traditional syringe, two different insulins cannot be mixed by the user in an insulin pen. On the other hand, some of the newest types of insulin cannot be mixed at all. In addition, using pens and pen needles is usually more expensive than using the traditional vial and syringe method; insurance coverage for insulin pens in the United States may vary widely, however in the UK insulin dependant diabetics are given pens for free as part of the NHS.

Technology has not changed much since the launch of the first insulin pen over 25 years ago by Novo Nordisk. A number of independent companies have created accessories to help people using insulin pens better manage their insulin intake.

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Wikipedia