Comparative Handling Analysis of Different Insulin Pump Systems.

Insulin pumps are used by many patients with diabetes to manage their diabetes therapy. Adequate handling of the systems is important to avoid errors. In this study, one aspect of device handling-the number of steps required to operate the system-was evaluated for different insulin pump systems. Specific tasks that are usually performed by insulin pump users were simulated and all necessary actions were documented. Differences between the required numbers of steps strongly depended on the specific task. So did the level of guidance for these tasks provided by the systems. Results of this study provide an overview of this particular aspect of insulin pump handling rather than a general advice.