Controlling Drug Delivery Apparatus

Abstract

A drug package comprising a plurality of drug vials containing drugs for delivery to a patient in a drug delivery device; and a data carrier including drug treatment information for use by the drug delivery apparatus.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 930,582, filed Aug. 15, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 781,610, filed Feb. 12, 2001, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from United Kingdom patent application no. GB0003197.1, filed Feb. 11, 2000 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to the control of drug delivery apparatus, for example such apparatus for delivering a drug to a patient's lungs through inhalation. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] A number of devices are available for delivering a drug into the lungs of a patient. A pneumatic or jet-type nebulizer is particularly effective in supplying an aerosolized drug for inhalation, but other ty...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The system ensures precise and efficient delivery of medications to the lungs, reduces waste and manufacturing costs, and allows for easy adjustment of drug doses and types without reprogramming the device, while preventing contamination and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Problems solved by technology

This might mean that a single treatment takes several minutes to deliver because of the amount of the drug which is to be delivered, and the nature of the device which is delivering the drug.

Unfortunately, this is no guarantee of the patient receiving the required dose in his or her lungs.

Most of the drug tends to impact in the patient's airways before it reaches the lungs, and some of the drug is exhausted from the lungs on exhalation.

However, for patients exhibiting symptoms of pulmonary disease, breaths will be shallower and treatment may be interrupted by symptoms of their disease such as coughing.

However, the bar code must be attached to each vial, requiring increased manufacturing costs and also the carrying out of regulatory approval tests to ensure that the adhesives of the label and the dyes used will not contaminate the drug within the plastic vials or reduce the storage life of the product.

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