EOPatch: Wearable Insulin Delivery and Monitoring App

Why does the EOPatch exist?

The EOPatch provides insulin-dependent diabetics with a tubeless, wearable, disposable insulin pump that features smartphone connectivity. Rather than injecting insulin from a syringe or using a pump that connects with infusion tubing, this smart diabetes management solution provides a more convenient and discrete option.

Continuous insulin delivery provides people with diabetes with improved control over their blood sugar numbers throughout the day. This medical device can help improve quality of life and make it easier to be out and about for daily activities. According to Today’s Dietician, with over 7 million Americans taking insulin, having convenient and easy-to-use delivery methods is a boon to treatment plans.

Traditional insulin pumps have the pump device, which uses tubes to connect to the infusion site on the diabetic’s arm. This configuration requires people with diabetes to wear a pouch around their waist. The tubing has to stretch a significant distance and easily get caught on doorknobs, corners, and other obstacles.

EOPatch’s tubeless approach fixes many of the problems faced by people with diabetes using insulin pumps. The addition of smartphone monitoring and control also makes it much more convenient to track the pump’s activity.

Who should use the EOPatch?

Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics can use the EOPatch if they’re insulin-dependent. This pump continuously delivers long-acting insulin to provide a baseline level for diabetics. During meals or blood glucose spikes, shorter-acting insulin helps to level out the numbers to avoid hyper or hypoglycemia. It also provides ongoing blood glucose data, which helps people with diabetes better understand the factors impacting their numbers. The American Diabetes Association reports that 400,000 Type 1 diabetics use insulin pump technology. Using insulin pumps over multiple daily injections,Science Daily reports a 29 percent decreased risk of death.

Because the pump has a tubeless connection, EOPatch offers an insulin management system suitable for children. Younger children may be prone to getting a traditional insulin pump tubing caught into their surroundings as they play. They don’t have this problem with a tubeless device.

Benefits of the EOPatch

• No tubes: The biggest benefit to the EOPatch is its tubeless design. Only the second insulin pump uses this approach, which opens up people with diabetes to more options.
• Lightweight patch: This medical device has a lightweight design that can easily be hidden under clothes. It has a low-profile form factor and would be difficult for the average person to notice unless they were specifically looking for it.
• 5-day patch schedule: By offering a 3.5-day patch replacement schedule, it’s easy to establish a consistent time to switch to a new patch. This easy-to-remember timing makes it more likely that the person with diabetes will replace the EOPatch on schedule.
• Eliminates the need for multiple injections: Diabetics don’t need to deal with the pain and hassle of injecting insulin multiple times per day. The EOPatch gets filled with insulin and then pumped into the body through a comfortable cannula. The wearer doesn’t need to interrupt their daily activities to take insulin, nor do they need to worry about keeping it cold.
• Easy to fill the patch: The EOPatch has a user-friendly design that makes it simple to add insulin to the patch after it’s applied, with a capacity of 200 U.
• Smartphone connectivity: While the EOPatch has a controller device that needs to stay near the pump, it also uses the EOBridge smartphone widget to connect with smartphones. Rather than pulling out the controller, people with diabetes can pull up the application on their smartphone for insulin management. They can also share their data with others, such as family members or their medical team, to better control diabetes. This application also comes in a web browser version. In a medical emergency, the app can also pass location information to trusted emergency contacts.
• Waterproof: Diabetics don’t need to worry about jumping in the shower or getting caught in the rain with this device. It has an IPx8 rating to be submerged in one meter of water for 24 hours without an issue.
• Fast insertion speed: EOPatch reduces the pain associated with insertion through a speedy process with a depth of 4.75 mm. People with diabetes also get a notification when it detects that they completed the soft cannula insertion.
• Advanced Diabetes Manager: The pump controller provides a user-friendly color touchscreen that streamlines the programming basal and bolus insulin administration process. It supports up to eight programs for each type of insulin. This device keeps track of how long the person with diabetes has used the current patch, blood glucose numbers, trends, and whether it detects occlusion. It retains 90 days of user data.

Drawbacks of the EOPatch

• Limited availability: EOPatch is currently only approved in South Korea, although the device manufacturer is working on rolling it out in the EU and US in the future. However, this process can take time and may not be readily available for years.
• Still need to carry a pump controller: This disposable insulin pump technology has not completely done away with the controller hardware, although it doesn’t need to be pulled out very often.
• Adhesive sensitivity: Diabetics who have allergies or sensitivities to the adhesive may feel uncomfortable using the EOPatch.

EOPatch Pricing

EOPatch was recently released, and pricing information is not readily available. If the cost is in line with other insulin pumps, it will be more expensive than manually injecting insulin as needed.

EOPatch Alternatives

Insulet’s Omnipod is the only other tubeless insulin pump on the market currently. It is more widely available than EOPatch and has similar functionality. However, it has a replacement cycle of 72 hours rather than 84 hours, so it can’t be replaced on the same days every week. This device also interfaces with a smartphone for easy visibility into its operations and the diabetic’s data. The controller integrates with CalorieKing’s food library to augment its built-in bolus insulin calculator.

The EOPatch provides a much-needed wearable insulin pump option to the market. With its cutting-edge technology and user-friendly approach, the EOPatch is a valuable tool for helping people with diabetes live normal lives.