The reservoir

One of the handy little perks of the Medtronic insulin pump is what I call the convenient “little blue collar”  (not to be confused with the terrifying death-grip of the “big blue ‘serter“). The little blue collar is used to hold a new reservoir against a vial of insulin, and has a double-sided needle to help draw the insulin from the vial into the reservoir. Compared to the clumsy syringe needle system of filling the cartridge of other pumps (such as the Animas), it’s really quite nice. The official name of the little-blue-collar is a “transfer guard”.

When you use it right — and apparently, I’ve been doing it wrong. This is according to the latest information (here as PDF) broadcast by Medtronic (I spotted it via social-media, but surprisingly not by email. I guess a letter will arrive in the mail soon).