Diabetes management has come a long way in the 100 years since the first dose of insulin was administered to Leonard Thomson — a 14-year-old boy from Toronto with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who lived to be 27 years old.  

Today, we have faster insulin and longer-lasting insulin, but we also have a variety of choices when it comes to how we want to administer it. 

Connected insulin pens — also known as “smart pens” — are an ideal way to get the simplicity of injections with the dosing and tracking support of an insulin pen. 

Today, in the U.S., connected insulin pen options include: 

Here’s a closer look at how they work. 

The basics: what a connected insulin pen can do for you? 

Connected insulin pens help you manage your insulin doses and blood glucose levels.  

Today’s options include some or all the following, depending on the brand: 

  • Reusable with a separate prescription for compatible insulin pen cartridges 
  • Calculates insulin doses based on entered carbohydrate quantities 
  • Calculates insulin doses for correcting high blood glucose levels 
  • For those using long-acting insulin, it provides insulin titration adjustments 
  • Offers programmable reminders so you don’t forget to take your insulin 
  • Tracks the insulin you have taken and when you took it 
  • Tracks insulin-on-board to prevent concerns like overlapping doses or hypoglycemia during exercise 
  • Tracks insulin temperature to prevent it from getting too hot or too cold 
  • Connect to compatible blood glucose monitors (BGMs) or continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) 
  • Connect to compatible diabetes management apps on your iPhone and Android 
  • Connects to a variety of fitness trackers 
  • Compatible apps generate reports and graphs on time-in-range, daily insulin usage, and more  
  • Compatible apps can send reports directly to your healthcare team 

Here’s a closer look at the details of specific connected insulin pen options. 

Tempo Pen & TempoSmart App (Lilly Diabetes) 

  • Insulin options: Lyumjev, Basaglar, Humalog 
  • CGM connectivity: Dexcom 
  • BGM connectivity: Connects to many glucose meters, including the provided Tempo Blood Glucose Meter and other Roche One-Touch, Contour, and Nipro meters. . 
  • Getting started: Talk to your healthcare team about your connect insulin pen options. 
  • Learn more here 

InPen & InPen App (Medtronic) 

  • Insulin options: Humalog, Novolog, Fiasp 
  • CGM connectivity: Guardian 
  • BGM connectivity: N/A 
  • Getting started: Talk to your healthcare team about your connect insulin pen options. 
  • Learn more here 

NovoPen Echo (Novo Nordisk) 

  • Insulin options: Humalog, Novolog, Fiasp, Levemir 
  • CGM connectivity: Dexcom, Freestyle Libre 
  • BGM connectivity: Not listed 
  • Other apps: Glooko, LibreLink, mySugr, Dose Check, Dexcom 
  • Getting started: Talk to your healthcare team about your connect insulin pen options. 
  • Learn more here 

Unity Pen & Unity App (Abbott) 

  • Insulin options: Pen caps device fits most major brands of long-acting and rapid-acting insulins 
  • CGM connectivity: Freestyle Libre 
  • BGM connectivity: Bigfoot Blood Glucose Meter 
  • Getting started: Talk to your healthcare team about your connect insulin pen options. 
  • Learn more here 

EDITOR’S NOTE: This content was developed independently by T1D Exchange and was supported by a healthcare contribution from Lilly Diabetes.