Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 May;16(3):587-595.
doi: 10.1177/1932296820983863. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Digital Diabetes Management: A Literature Review of Smart Insulin Pens

Lutz Heinemann  1 , Oliver Schnell  2 , Bernhard Gehr  3 , Nanette C Schloot  4 , Sven W Görgens  4 , Christoph Görgen  4
Affiliations
Review

Digital Diabetes Management: A Literature Review of Smart Insulin Pens

Lutz Heinemann et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2022 May.

Abstract

Digital health management is increasingly pivotal in the care of patients with diabetes. The aim of this review was to evaluate the clinical benefits of using smart insulin pens with connectivity for diabetes management. The search was performed using PubMed and PubMed Central on May 15, 2019, to identify publications investigating the use of insulin pens. Studies evaluating insulin pens with connectivity via Bluetooth/Near Field Communication, with an associated electronic device enabling connectivity, or with a memory function were included in the review. Nine studies were identified in the search. Overall, these studies lacked data on smart insulin pens with a connectivity function, with eight of the available studies investigating only pens with a memory function. The studies focused primarily on assessing patient preference, usability, and technical accuracy. The number of studies assessing clinical outcomes was small (n = 3). However, the majority of studies (n = 8) reported that patients preferred smart insulin pens because they increased confidence with regard to diabetes self-management. These results suggest a lack of published data regarding smart insulin pens with connectivity for the management of diabetes. However, the available published data on usability and patient preference suggest that the use of smart insulin pens holds promise for improving and simplifying diabetes self-management.

Keywords: diabetes; digital technologies; insulin therapy; pens; review; smart insulin pen.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: LH reports that he supports a number of companies that are developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic options for the treatment of patients with diabetes. He is a shareholder of Profil Institut für Stoffwechselforschung GmbH, Neuss, Germany, and Prosciento, San Diego, USA. OS reports personal fees from Eli Lilly, outside the submitted work. BG reports personal fees from Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Dexcom, Roche, Medtronic, and IME-DC, outside the submitted work. NS, SG, and CG are employees of Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Germany. All authors meet authorship criteria and take responsibility for the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study identification.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Heintzman ND. A digital ecosystem of diabetes data and technology: services, systems, and tools enabled by wearables, sensors, and apps. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2015;10(1):35-41. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Choudhary P, Campbell F, Joule N, Kar P, Diabetes UK. A type 1 diabetes technology pathway: consensus statement for the use of technology in type 1 diabetes. Diabet Med. 2019;36(5):531-538. - PubMed
    1. Fagherazzi G, Ravaud P. Digital diabetes: perspectives for diabetes prevention, management and research. Diabetes Metab. 2019;45(4):322-329. - PubMed
    1. Lindpointner S, Korsatko S, Kohler G, et al. Use of the site of subcutaneous insulin administration for the measurement of glucose in patients with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2010;33(3):595-601. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pisano M. Overview of insulin and non-insulin delivery devices in the treatment of diabetes. P T. 2014;39(12):866-876. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types