Painless Diabetes Testing Edit
Pelikan Sun Medical Lancet

For those with Type I diabetes, blood sugar needs to be checked regularly, often several times per day. This can be not just inconvenient, but, also a pain in the….well…finger. When traditional mechanical lancets puncture the skin to obtain a blood sample, they typically cause pain in two ways. First, the slow moving lancet presses down on the skin before the puncture is made, putting pressure on the underlying nerves. Secondly, the puncture depth is very difficult to control, causing the spring-loaded mechanical lancet to actually penetrate some of the nerve endings.

By contrast, the Pelikan Sun, a new product from Pelikan technologies, is electronically controlled and is claimed to be “virtually painless” by the manufacturer. According to their FAQ, it accomplishes this feat by first sensing the presence of the finger, then “lances to a user-selected depth, to a smooth and controlled stop, [which] enables the lancet to reach the capillary loops without penetrating nerve endings and without generating pressure waves…”.

As shown by the videos on the company’s website, the device allows simple and pain-free testing, even on kids.