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Introduction to wearable Insulin Pumps
Insulin was created on 1921, with the main purpose of moving glucose from our bloodstream into the body's cells to make energy, thus being medication for patients with diabetes. An insulin pump is a wearable medical device that supplies a continuous flow of rapid-acting insulin underneath your skin. Most pumps are small, computerized devices that are roughly the size of a juice box or a deck of cards. -
First Insulin Pump Prototype
Arnold Kadish developed the first insulin pump prototype in 1963 but it was bulky, heavy, and stood out. -
The first insulin pump
Arnold Kadish in 1974, finished his insulin pump prototype and named it the Biostator (pictured) measured blood glucose levels and dispensed insulin every five minutes. -
First Commercial Insulin Pump
First commercial insulin pumps marketed in 1978 was the Autosyringe, also named ‘Big Blue Brick’ which achieved early sales of 600 pumps per month. But these first early commercial Pumps were not very good. They suffered from performance and reliability problems. They were large, being the size of a brick and weighing up to 400 grams. Their batteries needed to be recharged too frequently; had limited safety alarms and lacked control of safe insulin deliver. -
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Insulin Pumps Becoming Popular
From 1990 to early 21st century, Insulin Pumps began to become popular, since technology had allowed more comfortable and safe insulin Pumps. Companies like Medtronic, MiniMed, Disetronic, and Animas were prominent companies making insulin pumps -
Minimed continuous 1999 glucose monitoring system
Very popular Insulin pump of the 20th century. -
First Tubeless Insulin Pump
In 2011, Insulet introduced OmniPod, the first tubeless insulin pump. Having an integrated infusion set, and conversing wirelessly with an integrated BG meter. The Omnipod patch pump allows complete freedom for improving ADL. -
Insulin Pumps of today
Today many companies are making insulin pumps that do not require a tube, with information being readily accessible on Iphone, and data which is collected and analyzed with the tap of a button. Many insulin pumps today also offer the ability to automatically adjust your insulin needs based on your current glucose levels. I would imagine that in the future, these wearable devices will become less visible, much more accurate, and durable than the devices we have today.