Med tech giant Medtronic is teaming up with Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” actress Jennifer Stone to promote its reusable smart insulin injectable InPen.
Stone is best known for playing Harper Finkle in the children’s TV show, which also starred Selena Gomez. The show ran from 2007 to 2012.
Medtronic announced the partnership with Stone last month, saying the actress is “a passionate advocate for the Medtronic InPen, which she’s been using for a few years to help simplify her diabetes management routine and decrease many of the daily decisions and calculations that were previously required before using this technology.”
The InPen system helps patients take the correct amount of insulin at the right time. Through the use of smart pen technology linked to an app, Medtronic says the system simplifies the calculations and mental math of diabetes management.
The company and Stone together want to help raise awareness about advanced technologies for people like herself who are living with type 1 diabetes.
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So far, the campaign features a video on Medtronic’s YouTube channel in which Stone describes how she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2013 at the age of 20. Stone said her diagnosis inspired her to change her major to nursing (from psychology) to learn more about her body, her condition and help others living with their own health problems.
Stone currently works as a registered nurse in Los Angeles and is also focusing on her acting career. To help with her diabetes management, Stone has been using the injectable InPen for the past couple of years.
Stone describes her experience with the InPen and how it allows her to manage her condition while juggling two careers. There are also photos of Stone with the InPen on the company’s website. It is not known whether Medtronic will have any direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads as part of the campaign.
“It can be daunting to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes because it’s something you have to live with for the rest of your life and manage every single day,” Stone said in the news release from Medtronic.
“I remember feeling like no one truly understood what I was going through, and I struggled for a while to learn what solutions worked best for my diabetes management. I didn’t want to give up the things I loved or dramatically change my routine. I’m thrilled I found the Medtronic InPen system — it fits seamlessly into my life and makes living with diabetes easier.”
Medtronic’s smart InPen offers personalized insulin dosing recommendations and reminders, carb counting support, tracking insulin levels in the body, calculating carb to insulin ratios and automatic logging of doses on the mobile app. The dose calculator uses glucose levels and a carbohydrate estimate to recommend an appropriate insulin dose.
Stone said these features have helped her manage her diabetes, which is especially important as she balances two careers.
The InPen provides a plethora of information automatically, making it easier for patients like Stone to make their diabetes decisions, including thinking less about them. Reports from the InPen can be sent directly to a mobile app for easy visibility and tracking with healthcare teams and loved ones, says Medtronic.
“Through technologies like the Medtronic InPen system, we’re working to decrease the number of decisions that people living with diabetes have to make every day so they can spend less time on diabetes management and more time on living their best life,” said Que Dallara, EVP and president, Medtronic Diabetes. “We’re excited to partner with Jennifer Stone to broaden awareness around the power of diabetes technology and the important role it can play in their life.”
Medtronic is also including non-celebrity patients who use the InPen in its campaign.
In addition to InPen, Medtronic markets a number of different type 1 diabetes products, including its MiniMed series of insulin pumps and the Guardian continual glucose monitoring system.
The company says it is also working on new connected tech that links these systems together.
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