Smart Connected Insulin Pens, Caps, and Attachments: A Review of the Future of Diabetes Technology

Departments

Diabetes Spectrum 2019 Nov; 32(4): 378-384. https://doi.org/10.2337/ds18-0069

Article Figures & Tables

TABLE 1.

Overview of InPen, ESYSTA, Pendiq, and YpsoMate SmartPilot Smart Insulin Pens

	InPen	ESYSTA	Pendiq	YpsoMate SmartPilot
Company	Companion Medical	Emperra	Pendiq	YpsoMed
Country of origin	United States	Germany	Germany	Switzerland
FDA approval	2016	No	No	No
U.S. availability	Yes	No	No	No
Cost	$665	$220 (€192)^*	$193 (€169)^*	Unable to verify
Insulin compatibilities	Lispro/aspart 3-mL cartridges	Lispro/aspart/glulisine 3-mL cartridges	Lispro/aspart 3-mL cartridges	Prefilled insulin
App service	Apple, Android	Apple, Android	Apple, Android	Unable to verify
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
USB	No	No	Yes	No
Features	• Lasts 1 year • Temperature sensor • Dose calculator • Reminders for patient • Prescription needed	• Cloud database accessible to providers • Replaceable batteries (last for up to 1 year) • Memory capacity for 1,000 data records	• Memory for recording last 1,000 injections (date, time, quantity) • Alarms if low battery, needle blockage, or low insulin • Rechargeable battery	• Tracks injection time and sequence of handling (pressing against skin, triggering the injection, positioning the injector, end of injection)

TABLE 2.

Overview of NovoPen 5 Plus, NovoPen Echo, Vigipen, and KiCoPen Smart Insulin Pens

	NovoPen 5 Plus	NovoPen Echo	Vigipen	KiCoPen
Company	Novo Nordisk	Novo Nordisk	Diabnext	Cambridge Consultants
Country of origin	United States	United States	United States	United Kingdom
FDA approval	No	Yes	No	No
U.S. availability	No	Yes	No	No
Cost	$68 (∼£52)^*	∼$54–$67 with discount	Unable to verify	Unable to verify
Insulin compatibilities	Aspart 3-mL cartridges	Aspart 3-mL cartridges	Unable to verify	Unable to verify
App service	No	No	Apple	Unable to verify
Bluetooth	No	No	Yes	Unable to verify
USB	No	No	No	Unable to verify
Features	• Records time since and dose of last injection • Displays battery life and memory status	• Designed for children • Records time since and dose of last injection • Displays battery life and memory status • Half-unit dosing	• Automatically records the time of injection as well as the amount of insulin injected • Transfers the data via Bluetooth to app	• Records time and amount injected

TABLE 3.

Overview of Smart Caps

	GoCap	Timesulin	Dukada Trio
Company	Common Sensing	Bigfoot Biomedical	Dukada
Country of origin	United States	United Kingdom	Denmark
Year created	2013	2010	2012
FDA approval	No	No	No
U.S. availability	Yes	No	No
Cost	$25/month	$15.72 (∼£12)^*	$46 (∼ €40)^*
Insulin compatibilities	SoloStar pens, FlexPen, and KwikPen (2019) pens	KwikPen, FlexPen, FlexTouch, SoloStar pens	FlexPen, SoloStar pens
App service	Apple, Android	No	No
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	No
USB	Yes	No	No
Features	• Displays remaining insulin • App displays type/time of insulin administration • App allows for blood glucose monitoring and meal entry • Lasts 1 year	• Tracks the time since last injection • Battery life of 1 year	• Flexible grip allows for more stability • Has a light above needle for better visibility • Shows time elapsed since last injection

TABLE 4.

Overview of Insulin Pen Attachments

	InsulClock	Clipsulin	EasyLog	InsulCheck
Company	InsulCloud	Diabnext	BioCorp	Innovation Zed, Ltd.
Country of origin	Spain	United States	France	Ireland
FDA approval	No	No	No	No
U.S. availability	No	No	No	No
Cost	$285 (€249)^*	∼$40	<$50	∼$32
Insulin compatibilities	KwikPen, FlexTouch, SoloStar pens	SoloStar pens, ClikSTAR, KwikPen, Luxura, FlexPen, FlexTouch	Unable to verify	FlexPen, KwikPen, SoloStar pens, NovoPen 3/4/5/Echo, Luxura HD, Savvio, ClikSTAR
App service	Apple, Android	Apple, Android	Unable to verify	No
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
USB	No	No	No	No
Features	• Shows the type, time, and quantity of insulin administered • App provides dose reminders, food/glucose input, temperature fluctuations	• Shows the type, time, and quantity of insulin administered • Battery life of 1,800 injections • Memory of 200 injections	• Detects time, date, amount of insulin injected • Alerts patients about missed, extra, and next doses	• Records elapsed time between injections • Green light flashes when dose injected • Temperature sensor • Replaceable battery