{"id":35547,"date":"2014-03-18T08:05:42","date_gmt":"2014-03-18T12:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?post_type=feature&p=35547"},"modified":"2016-01-10T05:47:25","modified_gmt":"2016-01-10T10:47:25","slug":"10-things-to-love-about-asante-snap-insulin-pump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547","title":{"rendered":"10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Asante Snap insulin pump is an impressive newcomer to the insulin pump market. After\u00a0trying the pump for thirty days<\/a>, I switched to it officially at the end of December. Here are the top ten features I like about the Asante Snap insulin pump, and why I like them:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Easy Auto-Priming<\/h3>\n

Whether you\u2019re used to a slow priming device or a relatively quick one, you\u2019ve never seen one quite as fast as the Asante Snap. As soon as you twist the cartridge cap on, insulin appears at the end of the introducer needle. The innovative cartridge cap that auto-primes the tubing also contains additional occlusion detection rather than relying solely on back pressure like other pumps.<\/p>\n

\"Asante<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A Flashlight<\/h3>\n

There is a small 15 second flashlight feature on this pump for visibility if you need to prime the tubing manually. It\u2019s also extremely handy for finding your way to the bathroom in the dark or searching for lost objects under the couch.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0300 unit Capacity<\/h3>\n

The Asante Snap insulin pump uses 3mL glass pen cartridges (Humalog). Unlike some 300 unit pumps, you get about 314 on the Asante Snap \u2013 enough to prime your tubing and still have 300 solid in the cartridge. The glass cartridge means that your insulin never starts to lose viability from coming into contact with plastic the way it can in a traditional pump reservoir. As insulin is never being removed from a vial and displacing air in a reservoir, the propensity for air bubbles is greatly reduced, meaning that this is not a pump you\u2019ll expect to see a lot of bubbles from.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lightweight<\/h3>\n

Even with a full 3mL cartridge loaded, this pump feels impressively lightweight compared to my previous pumps. It\u2019s as thin as its popular \u201cslim\u201d competitor, but a fraction of the weight. It\u2019s the length of a Dexcom G4 receiver and nearly equal in weight (G4 weight = 66g\/2.25oz vs Snap weight = 80g\/2.75oz).<\/p>\n

\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No Batteries<\/h3>\n

There are no batteries to change\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0charge with the Asante Snap insulin pump. The controller (the top piece with the buttons) houses a small back-up battery that is powered by the larger battery in each disposable snap-on pump body. A pump body lasts for up to one week \u2013 or however long it takes you to go through 300 units (for me, that\u2019s 6 days of wear).<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Fast Site Changes<\/h3>\n

The simplicity of components makes for very fast site changes \u2013 Asante\u2019s most touted feature. Every 2-3 days of cartridge wear, you do of course change your infusion site, but not the tubing or pump body, so of course those changes are as fast as popping a new cannula in. At the end of the life of a pump body, however, when it\u2019s time to change the other parts, the whole process takes less than 2 minutes. The low profile packaging (that makes your supplies easy to carry) is perforated, too, so it\u2019s frustration free and could be done with one hand. Prep your site, insert a fresh cannula, open a new pump body, slide a new 3mL cartridge in, twist the cap, snap the pump body onto the controller, prime the cannula, and you\u2019re done. I can do it in about a minute and a half.<\/p>\n

\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0IOB Calculation<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not just form, but also function, that matters in a smart pump and the Asante Snap delivers on several points. Knowing that customers and their medical teams have different preferences for how to calculate IOB – correction insulin only or all insulin (correction + meal) \u2013 Asante allows you in your pump setup menu to choose which method works for you.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Carb Calculator<\/h3>\n

One of the features I think all pumps should have is the ability to input carb counts and let the pump add them together. Arithmetic leaves too much room for user error. I am happy to see that Snap provides me a means to enter first carbs, second carbs, etc, when giving a Smart Bolus (that\u2019s Snap-ese for \u201cbolus wizard\u201d).<\/p>\n

\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Upgrade Options<\/h3>\n

Asante understands that customers get frustrated when they have to wait four years to have the newest technology. Their\u00a0quick upgrade program<\/a>\u00a0allows you to upgrade to the newest version of their controller for just $99. This offer will exclude cosmetic trade-ins, but it will be honored when they make functionality improvements to the device. Anyone who has been through a messy upgrade with a pump company will appreciate that this is no small customer promise.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

10.\u00a0“We Are Not Waiting”<\/h3>\n

Most impressively perhaps is that Asante recently\u00a0announced a partnership<\/a>\u00a0with the nonprofit\u00a0Tidepool.org<\/a>\u00a0to pursue an open source platform for diabetes data.\u00a0 Rather than develop yet another proprietary piece of software that frustrates users and their healthcare teams alike, data will eventually go to the cloud so that we can use our own data in multiple platforms. \u201cImagine an app that uses your CGM data and the data from your Snap Insulin Pump to recommend a change to your typical breakfast that could better keep your morning BG in control,\u201d says Asante CEO David Thrower in a\u00a0blog post<\/a>\u00a0on their website.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Asante<\/a><\/p>\n

So, given all of that, it\u2019s important to talk about where the\u00a0faults<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0in the pump are.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Low Resolution Screen<\/h4>\n

The Asante Snap insulin pump has a less-than-sexy low resolution screen. It\u2019s also quite small compared to competitors\u2019 screens. The menus and soft keys make good use of the limited space and it is easy to read in direct sunlight, but anyone who has held a smartphone will certainly feel that low resolution is dated.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No Software<\/h4>\n

While we “wait” for the results of the #WeAreNotWaiting movement, there is not currently any way to upload your data and review it with your healthcare team. Eventually, we\u2019ll see programs like Diasend that are popular in diagnostic settings have access to this data, but in the meantime, it\u2019s frustrating for my CDE.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Humalog Only<\/h4>\n

Humalog and Novolog cartridges differ slightly in length and diameter. Because the pump bodies are designed to the specifications of a Humalog 3mL cartridge, Novolog cartridges cannot yet be used in the Snap pump. Asante has vocalized intentions to create a separate pump body for Novolog users to accommodate the size and shape of a Novolog 3mL vial.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Accessories<\/h4>\n

The current accessory line for Snap is lackluster. There is a leather belt holster reminiscent of a utility tool holster or leather phone holster and a hard swivel clip. (I prefer to wear mine in a\u00a0Tallygear protective Dexcom G4 case<\/a>, currently.)<\/p>\n

This is a little pump with a lot of potential. I have been enjoying my time on it and am impressed with the company’s philosophy \u2013 a promise to make life simpler for people with diabetes and their loved ones. So far, my family is pleased with the simplicity.<\/p>\n

Photos by Melissa Lee<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re used to a slow priming device or a relatively quick one, you\u2019ve never seen one quite as fast as the Asante Snap. As soon as you twist the cartridge cap on, insulin appears at the end of the introducer needle. The innovative cartridge cap that auto-primes the tubing also contains additional occlusion detection rather than relying solely on back pressure like other pumps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":35559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1437],"tags":[1545,381],"yoast_head":"\n10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Asante Snap Insulin Pump is an impressive newcomer to the insulin pump market. Here are the top ten features that made me switch to Asante's Snap insulin pump...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melissa Lee\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547\",\"name\":\"10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Asante-Snap-Insulin-Pump-home.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-03-18T12:05:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-01-10T10:47:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/62c0a4a536510e9d01359ff78b0d6c9b\"},\"description\":\"The Asante Snap Insulin Pump is an impressive newcomer to the insulin pump market. Here are the top ten features that made me switch to Asante's Snap insulin pump...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Asante-Snap-Insulin-Pump-home.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Asante-Snap-Insulin-Pump-home.jpeg\",\"width\":600,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Asante Snap Insulin Pump\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/62c0a4a536510e9d01359ff78b0d6c9b\",\"name\":\"Melissa Lee\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1b69d7c961cd1ee5f94c419df7a5a2c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1b69d7c961cd1ee5f94c419df7a5a2c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Melissa Lee\"},\"description\":\"+Melissa Lee was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 10 in 1990. Having spent her first 18 years post-diagnosis feeling very alone with the disease and hoping to achieve the control required for a healthy pregnancy with diabetes, Melissa discovered the diabetes online community in 2008 and found her advocacy voice, as well as the glucose control she needed to birth two healthy children. link\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.sweetlyvoiced.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=21\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump","description":"The Asante Snap Insulin Pump is an impressive newcomer to the insulin pump market. Here are the top ten features that made me switch to Asante's Snap insulin pump...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Melissa Lee","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547","name":"10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Asante-Snap-Insulin-Pump-home.jpeg","datePublished":"2014-03-18T12:05:42+00:00","dateModified":"2016-01-10T10:47:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/62c0a4a536510e9d01359ff78b0d6c9b"},"description":"The Asante Snap Insulin Pump is an impressive newcomer to the insulin pump market. Here are the top ten features that made me switch to Asante's Snap insulin pump...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Asante-Snap-Insulin-Pump-home.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Asante-Snap-Insulin-Pump-home.jpeg","width":600,"height":400,"caption":"Asante Snap Insulin Pump"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=35547#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10 Things to Love About the Asante Snap Insulin Pump"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/62c0a4a536510e9d01359ff78b0d6c9b","name":"Melissa Lee","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1b69d7c961cd1ee5f94c419df7a5a2c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f1b69d7c961cd1ee5f94c419df7a5a2c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Melissa Lee"},"description":"+Melissa Lee was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 10 in 1990. Having spent her first 18 years post-diagnosis feeling very alone with the disease and hoping to achieve the control required for a healthy pregnancy with diabetes, Melissa discovered the diabetes online community in 2008 and found her advocacy voice, as well as the glucose control she needed to birth two healthy children. link","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.sweetlyvoiced.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=21"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35547"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}