Dream Pen if you had essentially no limits no budget what would you want?

[ThunderBird]

As I am going into my final year of engineering I need to start working on a finished project next year for my capstone design project, This gives me the unique opportunity to spend a gross amount of time and money and effort make something cool from the ground up. Right now I'm floating around the idea of making a injector pen just better more suited for the needs of the average peptide user and not for insulin delivery. My inspiration for this Project came from the Novo Nordisk Echo where its kind of smart but kind of eh for its electronics, to me it feels like it could be doing WAY more especially with the size of chips and electronics nowadays.

My question is as follows if you could have a pen that had XYZ features on it, that did XYZ what would you want it to do and why?

some things that i plan on including on the on the pen displayed already are as follows:

Substance - Total initial amount

Dose - total dose left

Dosing Schedule

Date/Time + Date Reconned / however days old the pep is

Previous Dose

Time till next Dose

Things that you would want can also be the following:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thank you for reading this long message and if you have any ideas that you would like to share please don't hesitate to drop them in here ill be reading everything on this thread.

just as a disclaimer I'm not planning on bringing anything to market I don't have the CAPX for a project like that it is more likely I will post Code/CAD/manufacturing process after this is all done if this is the project I end up pursuing

 

[Grogu]

As I am going into my final year of engineering I need to start working on a finished project next year for my capstone design project, This gives me the unique opportunity to spend a gross amount of time and money and effort make something cool from the ground up. Right now I'm floating around the idea of making a injector pen just better more suited for the needs of the average peptide user and not for insulin delivery. My inspiration for this Project came from the Novo Nordisk Echo where its kind of smart but kind of eh for its electronics, to me it feels like it could be doing WAY more especially with the size of chips and electronics nowadays.

My question is as follows if you could have a pen that had XYZ features on it, that did XYZ what would you want it to do and why?

some things that i plan on including on the on the pen displayed already are as follows:

Substance - Total initial amount

Dose - total dose left

Dosing Schedule

Date/Time + Date Reconned / however days old the pep is

Previous Dose

Time till next Dose

Things that you would want can also be the following:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thank you for reading this long message and if you have any ideas that you would like to share please don't hesitate to drop them in here ill be reading everything on this thread.

just as a disclaimer I'm not planning on bringing anything to market I don't have the CAPX for a project like that it is more likely I will post Code/CAD/manufacturing process after this is all done if this is the project I end up pursuing

I personally think it would be helpful to have a better understanding of how much peptides you have left in the cart. Some of my pens have lines on the cart holder, but I have no idea what those lines actually mean. I guess I could read the instructions, but who has time for that... And besides, some of my pens came with no documentation.

Priming is also an irritant. I thought that I had purged all the air out of a cart that I am currently using, but I looked yesterday and there is still air in the cart. I'm not sure if there is some engineering that could be done around that.

I personally won't leave the pen needle on the pen waiting for the next dose, so I would prefer pens that are smaller. I understand that pens are constrained by the length of the cart and the length of the "plunger" but if there was anyway to make these pens more streamlined and shorter that would be great.

Another sticking point, right now I'm using the Savvio. Love the build quality, love that it's smaller, don't love the cartridge loading mechanism. I like cartridge holders that screw in, and the Savvio uses a spring mechanism that turns the same way when you're removing a needle. So, several times when removing a needle I've accidentally had the cart holder pop out. I love the concept of the spring loaded cart holder, but maybe it sould have been threaded in the opposite direction?

You might also think about the ergonomics of these pens. Something that favored one hand useability, especially for people with arthritis might be something you could design around. I don't have that (yet), but I could see that being an issue.

Finally, as much as I love pens and I've tested the dosing a bunch of times, I'm still left wondering if the dose was delivered. I'm not sure if there is a way to engineer something around that.

 

[Grogu]

I forgot to say.... Good luck with your project and finishing your degree!

 

[AlexSilver]

The original Gansulin Auto-injector would be perfect if it only had a spring cap to hide the needle for injecting like the V2 does.

 

[thatkatmat]

I love the Gansulin too. I wish it had a mode where you click the button and you don’t have to hold the button down, it just delivers…Also these pens need an audible sound (a click, anything) to indicate dose was delivered so I can time how long I keep the needle in after delivery. Put a little watch battery in it and tie it to an app that tracks dosing amounts and everything I’d put on a label.

Good luck with your endeavor!!

 

[AlexSilver]

I love the Gansulin too. I wish it had a mode where you click the button and you don’t have to hold the button down, it just delivers…Also these pens need an audible sound (a click, anything) to indicate dose was delivered so I can time how long I keep the needle in after delivery. Put a little watch battery in it and tie it to an app that tracks dosing amounts and everything I’d put on a label.

Good luck with your endeavor!!

I think the novapen already has that plus a digital counter so you can see how many total units you have injected.

 

[thatkatmat]

I think the novapen already has that plus a digital counter so you can see how many total units you have injected.

I had a Novopen for the exact amount of time it took try and remove the vile holder and break it. Complete waste of money. Mine (at least) was defective and or design flawed. I knew it had a counter, wasn't sure about any of the other features.

 

[Romulusguy]

If you could find a way to connect two vials within an injector pen to the pen needle, you could have a viable product for people to "mix" peptides using independent single vials, a single needle, and a single device. So you load your device with, let's say, BPC-157 and TB-500, and you click dial 1 to 10unit, and a second dial to 15units (or nothing at all), inject yourself, push plunger 1, then 2, and you get dual injection with one device and one needle. If you think outside the box, you might be able to create a "pen" that is not a traditional looking pen, but operates similarly with design elements that allow for dual loading. If you can add some sort of digital display, that would be even better!

 

[Romulusguy]

The original Gansulin Auto-injector would be perfect if it only had a spring cap to hide the needle for injecting like the V2 does.

This was the reason I hesitated on getting a Gansulin.....and then I found these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTCYS69M?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

They fit on the Gansulin (and any pen really) just fine, are painless (this brand anyway), and hide the needle

 

[cheaperseeker]

A cartridge that doesn't trap the last bit of peptide. So you don't have to either waste what's left behind, or go through the trouble of using an insulin needle to get it out.

Something easy to use one handed, so you can get to areas that are harder to reach. For example, GHK-Cu stings less of pinned in the fat on the backside of the hips, but it is hard to reach back there and push the plunger at the same time.

 

[WLBLD]

Same with @Grogu needing to know what is left in there. For some reason there is always less than its supposed to be

& @cheaperseeker to be able to get out the final amount without wasting. Yes the price is so low but I feel bad throwing it away anyway, ha ha. I don't like insulin needles I prefer the shorter pen ones bc I'm still a needle baby. It's worth it to toss for the added less pain benefit

Congrats on being in your last lap for your degree!!

 

[Sid the SeaGull]

To complement your pen, If you can engineer a pen needle that is a quarter the size of a 34g, works effectively and does not break off easily. You've won first class honours in my books. Good luck .

 

[sheilarae74]

Something easy to use one handed, so you can get to areas that are harder to reach. For example, GHK-Cu stings less of pinned in the fat on the backside of the hips, but it is hard to reach back there and push the plunger at the same time.

That's my problem too. Maybe an automatic push button that has a time delay? If that's even possible.

 

[skeptick]

I personally think it would be helpful to have a better understanding of how much peptides you have left in the cart. Some of my pens have lines on the cart holder, but I have no idea what those lines actually mean. I guess I could read the instructions, but who has time for that... And besides, some of my pens came with no documentation.

Priming is also an irritant. I thought that I had purged all the air out of a cart that I am currently using, but I looked yesterday and there is still air in the cart. I'm not sure if there is some engineering that could be done around that.

I personally won't leave the pen needle on the pen waiting for the next dose, so I would prefer pens that are smaller. I understand that pens are constrained by the length of the cart and the length of the "plunger" but if there was anyway to make these pens more streamlined and shorter that would be great.

Another sticking point, right now I'm using the Savvio. Love the build quality, love that it's smaller, don't love the cartridge loading mechanism. I like cartridge holders that screw in, and the Savvio uses a spring mechanism that turns the same way when you're removing a needle. So, several times when removing a needle I've accidentally had the cart holder pop out. I love the concept of the spring loaded cart holder, but maybe it sould have been threaded in the opposite direction?

You might also think about the ergonomics of these pens. Something that favored one hand useability, especially for people with arthritis might be something you could design around. I don't have that (yet), but I could see that being an issue.

Finally, as much as I love pens and I've tested the dosing a bunch of times, I'm still left wondering if the dose was delivered. I'm not sure if there is a way to engineer something around that.

Hows about the plunger shaft and its follower made from polished stainless steel(or some such) so as the pen works super smooth and consistent thru out its operating range...

 

[AlexSilver]

Hows about the plunger shaft and its follower made from polished stainless steel(or some such) so as the pen works super smooth and consistent thru out its operating range...

The original Gansulin autoinjector does have steel gears and plunger.

 

[skeptick]

The original Gansulin autoinjector does have steel gears and plunger.

Any idea where it can be had?

 

[ThunderBird]

The original Gansulin autoinjector does have steel gears and plunger.

I mean realistically a spritz of WD40 ( or any type of lubricant) would change the feel more than the material honestly if you wanted a really really smooth pen you could Probably tear your pen apart apply a light lubricant and reassemble and I bet it would would be the feel you are looking for. Unfortunately my other hobby other than peps is custom mechanical and you would surprised how much lube goes into them things and I am cursed with lube knowledge because of it haha.

 

[skeptick]

I mean realistically a spritz of WD40 ( or any type of lubricant) would change the feel more than the material honestly if you wanted a really really smooth pen you could Probably tear your pen apart apply a light lubricant and reassemble and I bet it would would be the feel you are looking for. Unfortunately my other hobby other than peps is custom mechanical and you would surprised how much lube goes into them things and I am cursed with lube knowledge because of it haha.

I too, am cursed with an abundant knowledge of all things mechanical and I'm pretty sure I would have to completely destroy at least one to learn how to or how to not to do it. Hows about you tear yours apart and let us know how it goes...

 

[Sid the SeaGull]

I mean realistically a spritz of WD40 ( or any type of lubricant) would change the feel more than the material honestly if you wanted a really really smooth pen you could Probably tear your pen apart apply a light lubricant and reassemble and I bet it would would be the feel you are looking for. Unfortunately my other hobby other than peps is custom mechanical and you would surprised how much lube goes into them things and I am cursed with lube knowledge because of it haha.

I'd personally use a silicone based lubricant rather than WD40. Otherwise, inox. It's lighter and not as corrosive as wd40.

 

[ThunderBird]

I too, am cursed with an abundant knowledge of all things mechanical and I'm pretty sure I would have to completely destroy at least one to learn how to or how to not to do it. Hows about you tear yours apart and let us know how it goes...

What do you have honestly I’m curious now I bet I could tear one apart and put it back together ( now I may have to record a 5 hour video of me doing it ) but it would be essentially research for me as I am trying to build one of these