According to an estimate by the IDF (International Diabetes Federation), 366 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes. Living with this metabolic disease requires lifestyle modification and a lot of discipline, as people with diabetes have to add insulin to their system at prescribed intervals. Both overdosage and underdosage of insulin can quickly lead to serious health problems and even life-threatening situations. NovoPen 5 is an insulin injection pen designed to assist people with diabetes in managing their daily insulin injections. Its innovation takes the form of an easy-to-use memory function. This allows users to check the size of the last dose and see how many hours have passed since it was taken. In order to give users the greatest possible confidence, NovoPen 5 features a simple design purposefully reduced to the essentials. A large easy-to-read scale indicates the dose of insulin to be injected and the short push-button for injecting is located ergonomically for easy triggering. In addition, a sensory feedback system informs the user whether the entire dose has been injected. Addressing a key need of people with diabetes, the design of NovoPen 5 thus adds a sense of safety in insulin injection. Paired with interactive ease of use, this sensory feedback system gives users confidence and the assurance of having injected the right amount of insulin at the right time.

designer: ramin nateghi elahi, steven linnebjerg.
producer: novo nordisk
award: red dot 2012