EP0587380B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Drug delivery arrangement
Assignee: Respironics Respiratory Drug Delivery UK Ltd
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Filing: 1993-09-03
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Granted: 1997-11-12
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Expires: 2013-09-03
Abstract
Abstract An arrangement for delivering a drug aerosol comprises a sensor (3) which detects turbulent air flow during inhalation and causes the nebulizer (8,9,10,11,12,13) to generate the aerosol only during the inhalation phase of the breathing cycle. Airflow is diverted from the sensor during exhalation. <IMAGE>
Inventors
- 👤 Jonathan Stanley Harold Denyer
- 👤 Kevin Mcguinness
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 00:09
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61M; A61M11/00; A61M11/06; A61M11/001; A61M11/002; A61M15/00; A61M16/00; A61M16/0003; A61M2016/0015; A61M2016/0018; A61M2016/0021; A61M2205/00; A61M2205/42
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
165 words
A drug delivery arrangement for delivering a drug aerosol to the respiratory system of a patient, the arrangement comprising a duct having a inlet (C) open to the atmosphere, the duct being arranged to convey from the inlet an airstream inhaled by the patient, nebuliser means communicating with the duct and arranged to generate a drug aerosol in the airstream, sensor means (3) responsive to the airstream to generate a control signal, control means (40, 60) responsive to the control signal to cause the nebuliser means to generate the aerosol selectively during the inhalation phase of the patient's breathing cycle, and an inlet (8) for connection to a compressed air supply characterised in that the arrangement further comprises generator means (2,4;21) for generating turbulence in the airstream, and in that the sensor means (3) is a microphone which is responsive to the turbulence to generate the control signal, the generator means being such that the turbulence is generated only due to inhalation by the patient.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
46 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to claim 1, in which the generator means includes a directional valve (21) which is located in the duct of, and is operated by, the airstream, the valve being arranged to direct the airstream to the microphone (3) only during inhalation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
62 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the generating means comprises a chamber (4) in which the microphone is located, the chamber (4) having an aperture (2) which is exposed to forward and reverse airflow of the airstream during the inhalation and exhalation phases of the breathing cycle, the aperture (2) being approximately parallel to the axis of the airflow.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to any preceding claim, wherein the control means (40) is arranged to smooth the output of the microphone (3), to compare the instantaneous output of the microphone with the smoothed output of the microphone, and to generate the control signal in response to the comparison of the outputs.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the control means is responsive to changes in the amplitude of the output of the microphone (3) so as to mitigate the effects of continuous background noise.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
34 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the microphone (3) is coupled by a flexible tube (105) to a further tube (101) through which the patient breathes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control means (40) includes gating means (204-209) which is arranged to inhibit the generation of the control signal unless the microphone (3) generates an output signal for longer than a predetermined period.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
A drug delivery arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the gating means includes a non-triggerable monostable multivibrator (206) and a retriggerable monostable multivibrator (208) connected to a common input, the outputs of the multivibrators being connected to respective inputs of a logic gate (209).
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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