Analysis of the NovoPen® Echo for the delivery of insulin: a comparison of usability, functionality, and preference among pediatric subjects, their parents, and health care professionals.

In the current issue of Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, Dr. Olsen and colleagues analyzed the attitudes of children, their caregivers, and health care professional towards the usability, functionality, and preference of the NovoPen® Echo (Novo Nordisk Inc., Princeton, NJ). A comparison is made to two other insulin pen devices with half-unit increment capability--the NovoPen Junior and the HumaPen® Luxura® (Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN). Their results support the idea that the NovoPen Echo has the highest overall satisfaction among pen devices capable of delivering half-unit increments, is equally simple to assemble and inject, and has the added benefit of a simple recall memory function. A major concern is their finding that fewer adolescents dialed a dose correctly with NovoPen Echo than with the other two pens tested. Furthermore, the true test in validating their claims of the importance of this device lays in future studies, which should be undertaken to demonstrate that a preferred delivery device actually leads to improved compliance in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.