Animas One Touch Ping review

I just met with the rep for Animas One Touch Ping and thought I’d share my opinions.
I’ve been MDI for 24 years, and will soon be pumping. Having read alot of info on these and other forums, I am leaning towards the Cozmo, and am meeting with their rep tomorrow. So without furthur ado heres the scoop;

~It is slightly longer than the older Animas ( to accommadate the wireless functionality)

~It has a very sleek design, a rather impressive belt clip, and a curved inner side, which would make hiding the pump rather easy, such as strapping to the leg, etc.

~The screen is quite nice on the pump itself; however on the meter remote, it is not quite as readable. (It does have a backlight i.e. the One Touch Ultra meter which I presently use)

~ The Software is both Mac and Vista compatible; although it does not say Vista compatible on the Animas website. I will be confirming this Friday. One cool feature
of the software is the ability to compose your own tunes for use on the pump,much
like a cell phone. A nice bit of user customization, which may contribute to my ultimate decision on which pump to go with, although for some it may seem like a gimmick. What’s next, mp3’s, video games? This is a lifesaving medical device after all…

~The meter remote screen went back to the home screen rather quickly. I was attempting to enter an ezCarb setting, entering different datas, and stopped pressing buttons. After about 30 seconds the screen went home, and all my info was lost. This seems a peculiar functionality.

~There was another pecularity about the pump’s menu system, which involved the cursor going to the bottom of the screen instead of the next item in various menus, which would be an annoyance with repeated use. It would seem to be an inordinant amount of button pressing to accomplish what would seem a simple task.

~It is built like a tank (the pump,) the remote however is a different story. I would not be confident cross country skiing in the winter as this meter may not operate in cold conditions, thus limiting its uses, much like any other meter. However there are workarounds.

~There are two reminders (only two!,) and although the abilty to give insulin in the .025 range may benefit some; I can’t imagine using it, and more button presses!

This device is definitely convenient if one wishes to stash their pump away, and control it wirelessly, although it is not quite as user friendly in terms of the menus and the user interface. Also I think that the exclusion of the carb database from the pump itself may be a major error, especially in circumstances where for whatever reason the meter remote was inaccessible or inoperative.

Since I only was with it for a little more than an hour, I realize that this is a limited review, but I wanted to share my initial impressions with everyone, as I have gathered so much from these forums already. I sincerely thank you all for that, wish you good health, and hope that in time a more comprehensive review might help others. In fact I am a bit hesitant in giving this info as it is a bit limited, but I thought Id let it fly, for what its worth.

GW, I have just invested in the Ping, I wish I had read your review before I had decided to go with it… I also read your review on the Cozmo, and from what I have read so far it seems like more people using the Cozmo are more responsive and gungho about their pump. From what I understand from most pumpers is that you have to decide which one applys to your lifestyle most.
I have been using the Paradigm pumps since 2002 and I was having a problem with the screen cause I have had 6 eye surgeries and I need something easier to see. The Ping filled that gap. It’s waterproof… Heard a lot about cracking problems though… We’ll see if I have any problems.
I’m interested though in what you go with and why when you finally do get a pump. Please keep me posted.

Hi, without furthur notice, I too have decided to invest the next four years of my life in the Ping! It was a very difficult decision, but I finally decided with Animas for several reasons. One of the first things for me was my initial impression, which was this: wow the Ping is cool! Wireless! And after some investigation, and self doubt, I thought perhaps it was a gimmick? But then I thought about the practicality of using the Coz or the Ping day in and day out, and I felt that having wireless and the overall design of the Ping was better, for several reasons. One major criticizm of the Coz for me is that the tube comes out of the top, and the belt clip on the case is uncomfortable; I imagine constantly fumbling with it to read the screen in the upright position, exposing the wire needlessly and removing the cozmonitor for waterproofness. Ahh, it seemed too much. The ping could be strapped to the leg and forgotten for a bit. The Cozmonitor seemed cool, but made the Coz’ ergonomics unnatractive and impractical. My needs for insulin do not justify a 300 unit reservoir; also I feel that since insulin is sensitive to temperature variations, I am less confident in having so many units of insulin out of the frig for 3 to 5 days at varying temps. The 200 unit reservoir is more than sufficient. As for the firmware, both are excellent, and despite the menu irregularities, the cool screen of the Ping is, shall we say, totally awesome! This may in fact limit its wireless functionality for a bit… :wink: And the music feature for me was a big selling point; being able to personalize alarms with different songs or even writing my own. When I found out the Ping software is Vista compatible I was back on board with my initial impression. The Coz is definitely an excellent pump, but I feel like it may be better suited for people with a different lifestyle or attitude about their diabetes than mine. I participate in varied sporting events, and feel that the Ping is more discreet, and built more solidly, especially the waterproofness. The Ping seems like it may have fewer programming functions than the Coz, but a lot of those features are to me both redundant and not practical for me. For instance, I will never need a missed meal bolus reminder. Also my diabetes educator is experienced with Animas products, and the companies namesake! Jungian references!
Considering your need for a screen, I think you will marvel at the ping…
GL, and be well.

Good deal… I hope it works well for you. I am getting more excited every day. Have you gotten your pump yet? Also I really appreciate your input your last post has made me feel more confident in my decision now.

TTYL.

Mine comes early next week. I am equally excited and nervous, and I have educated myself to the point where I could probably start pumping as soon as it arrives, although I will meet with the educators asap.I forgot to mention that the meter remote was a big factor in my decision. At first I thought it might be inconvenient; two devices, more stuff to carry, but after seeing it I realized it’s an
advanced microcomputer, with BG graphs and alot of other cool features, which made the convenience of the Cozmonitor less attractive. Alot of users say they use a seperate meter anyways, so I figured, why not an all powerful meter!
Curiously, the sales reps I spoke with market the pump as allowing the user more flexibilty since they will have less stuff to carry around, when in fact this is not true. Using an insulin pump actually involves carrying more stuff!
And the CGMS thing… well Animas and Dexcom vs. Deltec and Abbott.
I’d have to go with Dex: 14 days and graphs, vs. fewer days and numbers with a directional arrow (weird)…
Interesting to see what Deltec’s next pump will be in several years. But why wait? Need better management now! And I won’t be a candidate for at least that long anyway.
BTW, I often wonder if the lucrative prospects of treating this disease in some way limit or in fact prevent federal funding for researching a cure? I.e. stem cell research? Perhaps this is addressed somewhere?

I’m still almost 2 years from a pump upgrade and I like my pump pretty well, but I am looking at the Ping online and it seems like a very nice machine. I like your review too because it tells me things that the online information isn’t telling me.
Thanks!

~The meter remote screen went back to the home screen rather quickly. I was attempting to enter an ezCarb setting, entering different datas, and stopped pressing buttons. After about 30 seconds the screen went home, and all my info was lost. This seems a peculiar functionality.

I am updating this to reflect that this is a user definable option, such that you set the time at which it defaults to the homescreen. Also the pump’s RAM is nonvolatile, as opposed to the Coz, which has 30 days of memory I believe.

We received the Ping one touch pump 2 weeks ago and after waiting for a call from the rep/trainer (which never came), we had to make numerous calls just to find out that the trainer can’t come to our house or my son’s school (where the nurse would get trained too). We have to go to the doctor’s office and that won’t even happen for another 2 weeks (a full month with the pump just sitting in our house). What horrible customer support. I believe that this pump s going back and we will look elsewhere. If we are being treated this badly as new customers, how bad is it going to get where they have us hooked.

WOW, I have had great sucess with talking to folks with Animas, Perhaps you should call and ask for a supervisor. I am a newbie with the PING for the past month and half and I must say I am totally happy, There are some issues though, as a user I need to stay on top of what my intake is. I need to make sure I tell it when I eat and what I eat, anyhow PM me if you want to talk with my Animas Rep, at least she can get you pointed in the right direction.

I was not impressed with Animas at all. I did go with the Ping but throughout the entire process I felt as if I was just another “sale”.

Animas Ping Review Update, March 26 2011



I thought I’d share some thoughts and update my review as Ive had some years of experience with it. Happy Pumping!



Im glad I went with the Ping 2.5 years ago, since the Cozmo went out to pasture! The Ping sure has made my Diabetes easier to manage, and is also, imho, built like a tank. I’ve had a water leak in mine, nothing serious, but there was water under the screen for some months, it didnt effect its operation, it would dry after a few hours, but I had to have it replaced when the edge of the battery compartment started to chip away. Not sure why this happened but Animas sent out a replacement right away. YAY!



All in all the Ping is easy to stash away in a pocket or on a belt, control it remotely, and not really worry about too much it for 2-3 days. Sure there’s the occasional unexplainable highs and los, but thats nothing new. My early criticisms have not really proven to amount to much. It seems the replacement pump is using batteries more efficiently too, its been over 4 weeks and it has yet to go down from full strength. I usually lock my pump, so maybe that lengthens the life, and keep the contrast at its lowest. (one thing concerns me is that there is no instruction on how to unlock it, might be a critical thing in an emergency situation, which would easily be remedied by instructions on how to unlock the pump printed on the pump itself.)



Overall though I am pleased, have an A1c in the 6 range all the time, and have had a better time managing my Diabetes.

My hypo awareness is not really any better, but after nearly 30 years I cant really complain, hopefully I can keep away the major complications! Much better than injections.



I recommend using the screen protecter (dont use any other than the ones Animas sells) the pump skin, and using Mastisol in the bottle form for sticking the Sets to your skin really good. (If you have that problem, which I did until I found this stuff. Only thing is it will rip you leg hairs out!) Not a problem for me really, but something to consider. Well thats all for now, good luck everybody. Dont let this CURSED Diabetes bring you down!