BD Introduces Nano Needle Technology to Improve Injection Comfort

Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based Becton Dickinson and Company (BD) has designed a line of ultra fine pen needles for diabetes patients who find it difficult to self-inject due to pain or fear. Studies suggest that as many as one-fifth to one-third of people with diabetes are hesitant or unwilling to give themselves insulin injections for reasons that include needle anxiety. Patients who reported injection-related pain or embarrassment also admitted they intentionally skipped insulin injections more often. A study by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) revealed that 47 percent of people with diabetes would be more likely to administer their injections regularly if a product were available that would ease the pain and discomfort of injections. With these needs in mind, BD Medical, a division of BD, developed the BD Ultra-Fine Nano Pen Needle with PentaPoint Comfort.

PentaPoint is a five-bevel needle tip designed to create a flatter, thinner surface to help penetrate the skin with significantly greater ease. In a clinical home-use study, patients who inject insulin found BD’s five-bevel pen needles to be significantly less painful, easier to insert, more comfortable and preferred overall when compared with current three-bevel pen needles. Bench tests showed the modified PentaPoint needle tip reduces the force to penetrate the skin by 23 percent compared to three-bevel pen needles.

In recent years, advances in needle manufacturing technology, along with shorter and thinner needles, have been associated with progressively improving patient self-rating of injection comfort. BD claims that its Ultra-Fine Nano is the shortest, thinnest pen needle available at 4 mm by 32 gauge. The needle has been clinically demonstrated to enhance comfort, and provides a less intimidating injection experience. The Nano also may help improve adherence to diabetes therapy regimens to support better health outcomes, company officials report. PentaPoint Comfort was added to the Nano needle to further advance patient comfort.

“We are excited to provide another first-to-market innovation, designed to dramatically improve the injection experience for the millions of people living with diabetes,” said Linda Tharby, president of BD Medical—Diabetes Care. “Building on the introduction of BD’s smallest needle, the BD Nano, we are confident that our new, patented PentaPoint Comfort technology will provide an even more comfortable injection experience. This will help enable patients to adopt and adhere more easily to the therapy regimens recommended to improve their outcomes.”

AADE publication Diabetes Educator featured an article in 2011 which recommended injection technique strategies that encourage the use of the smallest possible needle for improved patient comfort and insulin efficacy. The BD Nano 4 mm Pen Needle reportedly is proven to be as effective as longer needles for patients of various body types and provides equivalent glucose control by effectively delivering the insulin dose to subcutaneous tissue (the layer of fat below the skin), the recommended site for insulin injections, and reducing the risk of injecting into muscle. Intramuscular injection can accelerate insulin absorption and increase the risk of unanticipated hypoglycemia (abnormally low blood sugar). Subcutaneous injection allows the insulin to be absorbed at an appropriate rate, resulting in better glycemic control.

Diabetes, a disease characterized by the body’s inability to regulate insulin, has become a national health concern in the United States, with an estimated 26 million people – 8.3 percent of the population—living with the disease. Of those people, an estimated 18.8 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, and another 7 million are thought to be undiagnosed. According to a Population Health Metrics report, if current trends continue, as many as one of three U.S. adults will have diabetes by 2050. The total annual cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is an estimated $174 billion.

BD manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems, and reagents. It operates facilities worldwide.

Picture of PentaPoint courtesy of Becton Dickinson and Company.