Devices for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol agent

Abstract

A device for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol agent includes a heat generator, a heat conductor in fluid (airflow) communication with the heat generator, and a substrate holder in heat conducting relation with the heat conductor. The heat generator is a handheld, portable torch and the heat conductor defines an annular heat conducting chamber surrounding a substrate disposed within the substrate holder that supports the aerosol agent and an aerosol forming agent. Another device is a handheld, battery-powered heat generator including a heating element in heat conducting relation with a substrate holder. The heating element is a nichrome heating coil wound about the substrate disposed within the substrate holder and electrically coupled to the battery. Another device further includes an auxiliary heat generator having an auxiliary heating element formed by a finely woven wire mesh positioned adjacent the substrate and electrically coupled to the battery.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates generally to devices for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol agent. In exemplary embodiments, the invention is a handheld, portable device for vaporizing and delivering an aerosol agent, for example a therapeutic drug in the form of an aerosol to a patient, or nicotine in the form of an aerosol to a smoker.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Therapeutic agents, and in particular drugs, are commonly delivered to a patient, via a pill, capsule, tablet or the like that is ingested orally and absorbed into the bloodstream. A therapeutic agent may also be introduced directly into the bloodstream via an intravenous solution. Therapeutic agents that are ingested orally and absorbed require a longer period of time before the effects of the agent are realized by the patient. Furthermore, agents delivered to a patient via a pill, capsule, tablet or the like suffer from a loss of therapeutic effect due to hepatic metabolism. Intravenous d...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the invention as broadly described herein, the present invention provides devices for vaporizing and delivering an agent in the form of an aerosol, referred to herein as “an aerosol agent.” In the exemplary embodiments shown and described herein, the aerosol agent delivery devices provide a portable, effective, convenient, easy to use device for reliably and repeatedly vaporizing and delivering a wide range of aerosol agents, for example a therapeutic drug in the form of an aerosol to a patient, or nicotine in the form of an aerosol to a smoker.

Problems solved by technology

Furthermore, agents delivered to a patient via a pill, capsule, tablet or the like suffer from a loss of therapeutic effect due to hepatic metabolism.

Intravenous drug delivery, however, is generally inconvenient for a patient that is not resident in a health care facility and can be painful under certain circumstances.

Delivery of a therapeutic agent in the form of an aerosol by inhalation overcomes the disadvantages of both delivery methods, but has yet to gain widespread acceptance and use.

One possible reason for the limited role of inhalation drug delivery despite its increased efficacy, convenience and painless administration is the lack of a suitable device for portable, reliable, repeatable and simplistic vaporization and delivery of a variety of different drugs in an aerosol form.

In addition, none of the existing aerosol agent delivery devices are sufficiently portable, reliable, repeatable and easy to use.

The low rate of success is believed to be due to the highly addictive nature of nicotine present in conventional cigarettes.

Nicotine gum and nicotine patches, however, have proven to be largely unsuccessful smoking cessation devices due to their failure to satisfy the smoker's hand-to-mouth and inhalation urges.

Despite the reduced health risks, there remain certain disadvantages with the current e-cigarettes.

These findings are particularly disturbing since the cartridges and cartomizers of e-cigarettes are inherently susceptible to leakage and / or breakage owing to their small size and relative fragility.

As a result, the danger exists that a cartridge or cartomizer could leak or break and cause a user to directly inhale a harmful dosage of the liquid solution or a full nicotine delivery without vaporization.

It is also possible for a leaking e-liquid to damage the electronics and / or corrode the battery of the electronic nicotine delivery device.

Furthermore, the majority of e-cigarettes utilize a rechargeable lithium battery that can potentially explode if the smoking device is mistakenly exposed to the flame from a match, lighter, torch or the like.

Images