What Would Your Ultimate Dream Pen Look Like With No Budget Limits?

[ThunderBird]

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

 

[Grogu]

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

 

[Grogu]

I forgot to mention... best of luck with your project and completing your degree!

 

[AlexSilver]

If the original Gansulin Auto-injector just came with a spring cap to conceal the needle during injection, the way the V2 does, it would be flawless.

 

[thatkatmat]

The Gansulin is a favorite of mine as well. One feature I'd like to see is a setting where pressing the button once starts the injection without needing to keep it pressed the whole time—it would simply deliver on its own. Another thing these pens are missing: some kind of audible cue (a click or any noise) that confirms the dose went in, which would let me count how long to leave the needle inserted afterward. If you added a small watch battery and connected it to an app, that app could log doses and anything else I'd normally write on a label.

Wishing you success with your project!!

 

[AlexSilver]

thatkatmat said:

The Gansulin is a favorite of mine as well. One feature I'd like to see is a setting where pressing the button once starts the injection without needing to keep it pressed the whole time—it would simply deliver on its own. Another thing these pens are missing: some kind of audible cue (a click or any noise) that confirms the dose went in, which would let me count how long to leave the needle inserted afterward. If you added a small watch battery and connected it to an app, that app could log doses and anything else I'd normally write on a label.

Wishing you success with your project!!

From what I can tell, the Novopen already offers that feature along with a digital readout that tracks your cumulative injected units.

 

[thatkatmat]

AlexSilver said:

thatkatmat said:

The Gansulin is a favorite of mine as well. One feature I'd like to see is a setting where pressing the button once starts the injection without needing to keep it pressed the whole time—it would simply deliver on its own. Another thing these pens are missing: some kind of audible cue (a click or any noise) that confirms the dose went in, which would let me count how long to leave the needle inserted afterward. If you added a small watch battery and connected it to an app, that app could log doses and anything else I'd normally write on a label.

Wishing you success with your project!!

From what I can tell, the Novopen already offers that feature along with a digital readout that tracks your cumulative injected units.

My Novopen lasted only as long as it took me to attempt taking out the vial holder, which ended with it snapping. Total waste of cash. The one I got was either faulty, badly designed, or both. I was aware of the counter feature, but the rest of the capabilities were unclear to me.

 

[Romulusguy]

Imagine an injector pen that lets 2 vials feed into the same pen needle. That setup could become a real product for folks who want to "mix" peptides while keeping each vial separate, using 1 needle and 1 device.

So the idea is: you put BPC-157 in one side and TB-500 in the other. Then you set 1 dial to 10unit and a 2nd dial to 15units (or leave it at nothing). After injecting, you press plunger 1, then plunger 2. The result is a dual injection from 1 device with 1 needle.

If you're willing to think outside the box, the "pen" doesn't have to look like a traditional pen. It just needs to work in a similar way, with design elements that support dual loading. And if you can work in some kind of digital display, that would be even better!

 

[Romulusguy]

AlexSilver said:

If the original Gansulin Auto-injector just came with a spring cap to conceal the needle during injection, the way the V2 does, it would be flawless.

That's exactly why I held off on buying a Gansulin... until I came across these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTCYS69M?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

They work perfectly with the Gansulin (or really any pen), cause no pain (at least with this brand), and keep the needle out of sight

 

[cheaperseeker]

A cartridge designed so that no peptide gets left stuck at the bottom. That way, there's no need to throw away the remainder or mess around extracting it with an insulin needle.

It should also be simple enough to operate with just 1 hand, letting you reach spots that are otherwise awkward. Take GHK-Cu: injecting it into the fat on the rear side of the hips hurts less, but reaching around to that area while pressing the plunger at the same time is a challenge.

 

[WLBLD]

Same here with @Grogu — I want to know how much is actually left inside. Somehow it's always under the stated amount.

And @cheaperseeker, being able to extract every last drop instead of binning it. Sure, it doesn't cost much, but it still bugs me to throw it out, ha ha. Insulin needles aren't for me; I'd rather use the shorter pen ones since I'm still a wimp about needles. Paying a bit more for less discomfort is fine by me.

Nice work making it to your final stretch of the degree!!

 

[Sid the SeaGull]

If you could design a pen needle that's a quarter of a 34g's size, functions well, and won't snap off without much effort, it would serve as a perfect match for your pen. In my view, that achievement would earn you top honours. Best of luck.

 

[sheilarae74]

cheaperseeker said:

A cartridge designed so that no peptide gets left stuck at the bottom. That way, there's no need to throw away the remainder or mess around extracting it with an insulin needle.

It should also be simple enough to operate with just 1 hand, letting you reach spots that are otherwise awkward. Take GHK-Cu: injecting it into the fat on the rear side of the hips hurts less, but reaching around to that area while pressing the plunger at the same time is a challenge.

I run into the same issue. What about a push button that works automatically and includes some kind of delay timer? Assuming something like that could even be built.

 

[skeptick]

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

 

[AlexSilver]

skeptick said:

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

Steel gears and a steel plunger are indeed present in the first Gansulin autoinjector.

 

[skeptick]

AlexSilver said:

skeptick said:

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

Steel gears and a steel plunger are indeed present in the first Gansulin autoinjector.

Do you know where someone could get one?

 

[ThunderBird]

AlexSilver said:

skeptick said:

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

Steel gears and a steel plunger are indeed present in the first Gansulin autoinjector.

Honestly, in practical terms, a quick shot of WD40 (or really any lubricant) would alter how it feels more than the material would. If your goal is an extremely, extremely smooth pen, you could likely take the pen apart, put on a little light lubricant, and put it back together — I'd wager that gives you the sensation you're after. Sadly, apart from peps, my other pastime is custom mechanical, and you'd be shocked by how much lube goes into those things, so I've been stuck with lube knowledge because of it haha.

 

[skeptick]

ThunderBird said:

AlexSilver said:

skeptick said:

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

Steel gears and a steel plunger are indeed present in the first Gansulin autoinjector.

Honestly, in practical terms, a quick shot of WD40 (or really any lubricant) would alter how it feels more than the material would. If your goal is an extremely, extremely smooth pen, you could likely take the pen apart, put on a little light lubricant, and put it back together — I'd wager that gives you the sensation you're after. Sadly, apart from peps, my other pastime is custom mechanical, and you'd be shocked by how much lube goes into those things, so I've been stuck with lube knowledge because of it haha.

Count me among those who know far too much about how mechanical things work, and I suspect I'd end up ruining at least 1 of them in the process of figuring out the right way — or the wrong way — to do it. What do you say you take yours apart and report back on the results...

 

[Sid the SeaGull]

ThunderBird said:

AlexSilver said:

skeptick said:

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

Steel gears and a steel plunger are indeed present in the first Gansulin autoinjector.

Honestly, in practical terms, a quick shot of WD40 (or really any lubricant) would alter how it feels more than the material would. If your goal is an extremely, extremely smooth pen, you could likely take the pen apart, put on a little light lubricant, and put it back together — I'd wager that gives you the sensation you're after. Sadly, apart from peps, my other pastime is custom mechanical, and you'd be shocked by how much lube goes into those things, so I've been stuck with lube knowledge because of it haha.

For my part, I'd go with a silicone-based lubricant instead of WD40. If not that, then inox — it's less heavy and doesn't corrode things the way wd40 does.

 

[ThunderBird]

skeptick said:

ThunderBird said:

AlexSilver said:

skeptick said:

Grogu said:

ThunderBird said:

Next year marks my last year in engineering, and I'll need to begin a finished project for my capstone design course. This hands me a rare chance to pour an absurd amount of time, money, and effort into building something impressive from scratch. At the moment, I'm considering designing an injector pen that's improved and more tailored to what a typical peptide user actually needs, rather than being built for insulin delivery. The Novo Nordisk Echo sparked this idea for me—it's somewhat smart, but its electronics are just so-so in my view. Given how small chips and electronics have become these days, it seems like it ought to be capable of FAR more.

So here's my question: if you could have a pen with XYZ features, doing XYZ things, what would you want it to do, and why?

A few items I already intend to show on the pen are listed below:

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

Other things you might want could include:

form Factor

general aesthetics

needles ( hidden or shown)

how you chose the dose

smartphone connectivity

Alarms

Cartridge loading and compatibility

Material/build quality

Thanks for sticking with this long post. If you've got any ideas you'd like to share, please go ahead and put them here—I'll read every reply in this thread.

Just to be clear, I have no plans to bring anything to market; I don't have the CAPX for a project like that. More likely, I'll share Code/CAD/manufacturing process once everything is finished, if this ends up being the project I pursue.

For my part, one improvement would be knowing more precisely how much peptide remains in the cartridge. A few of my pens have markings on the cartridge holder, yet those markings are meaningless to me. Sure, I could consult the instructions, but finding the time is another matter... On top of that, certain pens arrived without any paperwork.

Priming is another annoyance. I believed I had removed every bit of air from a cartridge I'm using now, but when I checked yesterday, air was still present. Whether any engineering solution exists for that, I can't say.

Since I won't keep the pen needle attached between doses, I'd rather have pens that are more compact. I get that cartridge length and the length of the "plunger" set the size, but any way to make these pens slimmer and shorter would be welcome.

There's one more frustration: at the moment I use the Savvio. The build quality is great, its smaller size is great, but the cartridge loading mechanism is not. Screw-in cartridge holders are what I prefer, whereas the Savvio relies on a spring mechanism that rotates the same direction as when you take off a needle. As a result, while removing a needle, I've had the cart holder pop out several times by accident. A spring loaded cart holder sounds appealing, but perhaps the threading should have gone the opposite way?

Ergonomics deserve thought too. A design that made one-handed use easier, particularly for those with arthritis, could be worth designing around. I don't have that (yet), but I can imagine it becoming a problem.

Last, even though I like pens and have tested dosing many times, I still find myself unsure whether the dose actually went in. I don't know if there's a way to engineer something for that.

What if the plunger shaft, along with the part that follows it, were built from polished stainless steel—or a similar material—so that the pen glides with exceptional smoothness and stays consistent across its entire working range?

Steel gears and a steel plunger are indeed present in the first Gansulin autoinjector.

Honestly, in practical terms, a quick shot of WD40 (or really any lubricant) would alter how it feels more than the material would. If your goal is an extremely, extremely smooth pen, you could likely take the pen apart, put on a little light lubricant, and put it back together — I'd wager that gives you the sensation you're after. Sadly, apart from peps, my other pastime is custom mechanical, and you'd be shocked by how much lube goes into those things, so I've been stuck with lube knowledge because of it haha.

Count me among those who know far too much about how mechanical things work, and I suspect I'd end up ruining at least 1 of them in the process of figuring out the right way — or the wrong way — to do it. What do you say you take yours apart and report back on the results...

Honestly, what are you all working with? I'm genuinely curious now. My guess is I could take one apart and reassemble it — though I might end up filming a 5 hour video of the whole process — but for me it would basically count as research, since I'm trying to build one of these myself.