Smart insulin pens can show you if you’ve missed an injection, how much insulin you’ve taken and the last time you injected.
They can be paired with apps that provide data from blood glucose meters as well as continuous glucose monitors (CGM), so you can see all your glucose and insulin dosing data side-by-side.
What is a smart insulin pen?
Smart insulin pens can make life a little easier for people with diabetes who have insulin injections.
Smart insulin pens, also known as connected pens, can be used by and are beneficial to people with all forms of diabetes who inject insulin, whether you finger-prick and use blood glucose meters, or you use CGMs.
Smart insulin pens can also connect with certain apps that let you see your insulin dosages and blood glucose data in one place. This means you can look at the timing and dose of your insulin in relation to any food you’ve eaten or activity you’ve done to see how it has affected you.
The data can also tell you how much insulin is still working in your body which can help you make decisions for unplanned activity or unexpected sugar readings.
How do smart insulin pens work?
Smart insulin pens are reusable devices that automatically record when you have injected insulin, including how much has been injected and at what time of the day.
The devices have a dose memory display which shows the amount of time that has passed since your last dose, and they can show you when a dose has been missed.
Once your smart insulin pen is paired to a connected app, this information can then be sent virtually to help you manage your insulin data more easily and in one place.
You can read more about injecting insulin.
Which smart insulin pens are available?
There are two smart pens manufactured by Novo Nordisk which are available on the NHS: the NovoPen 6 and NovoPen Echo Plus. Both are reusable and compatible with 3ml Penfill cartridges of insulins made by Novo Nordisk.
If you are prescribed a Novo smart pen and wish to use it like a standard insulin pen without the connectivity function, then you can discuss this with your clinic or healthcare provider.
Medtronic’s InPen is available via the Medtronic website.
How can smart insulin pens affect diabetes management?
There are benefits to using smart insulin pens for diabetes management.
For example, you can use the pen’s memory mode or look on the history log of the app your pen is connected to check if you gave yourself your bolus or basal insulin, and how much, instead of trying to remember. This reduces the chances of missed insulin doses or accidentally giving yourself the same dose twice.
You can also share this data with your healthcare team to chat through at your appointments.
“What I love the most about the smart insulin pens, and what I find has really changed how I manage my diabetes occurs whenever I think to myself, did I take that bolus? Did I take my background insulin?
“Now I know instantly when I injected and how much. This is a total game-changer, the technology has improved my quality of life and helped lift my worries. Moreover, I can easily share all this data with my diabetes team which can be helpful in annual reviews or urgently required appointments.”
Tom Dean, 33, founder of DiabetesChat, who lives with type 1 diabetes.
Which apps can connect with smart insulin pens?
Providing your smartphone or tablet supports Near Field Communication (NFC) then Novo’s smart pens can be connected with the following apps:
- Mysugr
- FreeStyle LibreLink
- Glooko
- Novo’s smart pens also connect with the Dexcom G6, G7, and Dexcom One (via Glooko).
How does the connectivity between the pens and apps work?
Smart pens can be used without any smart connectivity, but the added benefits of the pens can be seen once you download the pen data onto the integrated app.
For example, you can upload data from your blood glucose meter or CGM and view your insulin dosing data alongside this, which can help you to spot patterns which can help with diabetes management.
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How do I get a smart insulin pen?
If you use Novo Nordisk Penfill insulin cartridges, then you can ask your doctor or diabetes team for a prescription for a smart insulin pen. This applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Nothern Ireland.
