Originally Written April 19, 2022
When automated insulin systems become the standard of care, there will still be millions of people who prefer a lifestyle on pens as opposed to pumps, and there is no reason why people who choose to administer their insulin with an insulin pen should be left behind.
-John Sjolund, July 2018
In 2018 I wrote the article “Beyond Pump Systems: The Case for Insulin Pens” where I laid out my vision for how to make insulin pens better, following the first product that we created for insulin pen users, Timesulin. My vision was to give the overwhelming majority of people with diabetes better tools to help them make decisions about how much insulin to take. Insights, not data. Simplicity, not options. Actionable information to send diabetes to the background more often, and make it easy to deal with when it surfaces for attention - like when you are eating or your glucose is high.
I am very proud of the resulting product, Bigfoot Unity, which we created and which Bigfoot Biomedical launched in May 2021. It’s an awesome tool that removes a lot of guesswork from diabetes management. Scan your CGM sensor, and the Unity system tells you how much insulin you should take to correct your glucose when it’s high or how much to take for an upcoming meal.
It finally gives insulin pen users tools that those on an insulin pump have had access to for years but with more discretion, lower cost, and in a much simpler-to-use format.
So what’s next?
Night Time.
See, the thing with insulin pens, even smart insulin pens like Bigfoot Unity or Medtronic InPen (created by my fellow co-founder Sean Saint and his team at Companion Medical), is that you need to be aware when you use them. These systems give you recommendations, but you still need to dial the insulin pen and manually take an injection. You, the person with diabetes, are in control—and this is a good thing.
And then you go to bed. Nobody is in control. This is where the anxiety kicks in for the more than 37 million people in the United States who live with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, of which 7 million regularly dose insulin, 90% of whom use injection therapy. “Will I wake up with high blood glucose numbers? How interrupted will my sleep be? What will tomorrow look like for me?”
What if there was another option on your terms, like a small, affordable device you could wear when you wanted? That’s the Luna Diabetes vision: the world’s first overnight insulin delivery device created to support the more than 7 million insulin injection therapy users in the US alone. It’s not about changing a preferred treatment option but rather about providing a solution to stay on MDI during the day and gain the benefits of a closed-loop pump system at night.
Luna Diabetes gives people who use injection therapy a chance to unlock the power of restful, uninterrupted sleep by putting their diabetes treatment on autopilot throughout the night, giving them an endocrinologist on their nightstand who will watch their back and transform one of their biggest challenges into a strength. We call it Better Nights for Better Days®. Because nothing is sweeter than uninterrupted sleep - and waking up in range every morning.
Improvements to physical and mental health, the ability to manage diabetes, and the feeling of control over diabetes are all possible with a good night’s sleep. But that feeling of laying your head down to rest without anxiety or fear may be the greatest gift of all.
If you’d like to learn more about Luna and receive updates on our progress toward this goal, visit our website and download the white paper we have written, "Luna—The Secret of Sleep with Diabetes." We’ve combined some of the fascinating facts we gathered during our research in partnership with DQ&A and Seagrove Partners and compiled an ebook available for free download.