An atomizer droplet size calibration apparatus and method

Abstract

Disclosed are an atomizer droplet particle size calibration device and method. In the atomizer droplet particle size calibration device, a clamp and a sampling dish moving part are placed on a test table, the clamp and a sampling plate and their moving device are fixed on the clamp and the sampling dish moving part, and the sampling dish is placed on a Z-axis moving platform in the clamp and the sampling dish moving part. The calibration method includes a sampling work flow and a droplet image processing process. The device accurately calibrates the atomizer droplet particle size to improve the effect of atomization treatment, meet the real-time monitoring needs of clinical scenes, and reduce the cost and operation complexity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of atomizer calibration technology, and in particular to an atomizer droplet size calibration device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Nebulization therapy is a widely used method for treating respiratory diseases, especially asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The core of nebulization therapy lies in transforming liquid medication into tiny aerosol particles, allowing the patient to inhale them directly into the respiratory tract for effective treatment. The parameters of the nebulized particles are crucial to the therapeutic effect, as they directly affect the deposition site and absorption efficiency of the drug in the respiratory tract.

[0003] However, most hospitals currently use jet-type pneumatic nebulizers, which are simple in structure and rely mainly on doctors to manually adjust the air pressure to regulate the nebulization effect, making it difficult to guarantee the effectiveness of nebulization therapy. Meanwhile, methods for monitoring nebulized particle parameters face numerous challenges in terms of real-time performance, portability, accuracy, personalized adjustment, cost, and safety. Existing devices are bulky, making them difficult to adapt to the real-time monitoring needs of clinical and home settings, and their monitoring accuracy and dynamic adjustment capabilities are insufficient to meet the needs of personalized patient treatment. High cost and complex operation further limit the widespread adoption of these devices.

[0004] The information disclosed in the background section is only intended to enhance the understanding of the background of the present invention, and therefore may contain information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings or defects of the existing technology, a device and method for calibrating the droplet size of an atomizer are provided. This method accurately calibrates the droplet size of the atomizer to improve the effectiveness of nebulization therapy, meet the real-time monitoring needs of clinical and home settings, and reduce costs and operational complexity.

[0006] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solutions.

[0007] A device for calibrating the droplet size of an atomizer includes, The sampling dish moving part includes, The frame structure includes a Y-axis moving platform, an X-axis moving platform, and a Z-axis moving platform. The sampling dish is supported on the Z-axis moving platform. A fixture, mounted on the X-axis moving platform, includes, The fixture base is mounted on the X-axis moving platform. A bidirectional lead screw is mounted on the fixture base. The fourth motor is driven by a bidirectional lead screw. A pair of clamps with a sponge between them are connected to the bidirectional screw to switch between clamping and releasing to flexibly clamp the atomizer nozzle that sprays droplets toward the sampling dish. Sampling plate and its moving device, comprising, The slide table, which is mounted on the frame, The fifth motor is connected to the slide table. A sampling plate, which is mounted on the slide and can be controllably moved under the drive of a fifth motor to align with the sampling dish.

[0008] In the aforementioned atomizer droplet size calibration device, a rectangular opening is provided in the middle of the sampling plate to make the droplets entering the sampling dish at the same time controllable.

[0009] In the aforementioned atomizer droplet size calibration device, the sampling height of the droplets ejected from the atomizer nozzle is related to the moving speed of the sampling plate.

[0010] In the aforementioned atomizer droplet size calibration device, the sampling plate and its moving device further include a shield connected to the sampling plate to cover the sampling plate after the droplet sampling is completed.

[0011] In the aforementioned atomizer droplet size calibration device, the Y-axis moving platform is mounted on both sides and fixed to the support rods of the frame with screws, allowing relative movement between them. It is connected to a second motor via pulleys to controllably provide movement in the Y-axis direction. The X-axis moving platform is mounted on a support rod fixed to the Y-axis moving platform with screws and can move relative to it. It is connected to the first motor via a pulley, thereby driving the Y-axis moving platform to move controllably. The Z-axis moving platform is mounted between two support rods fixed to the frame with screws and is controllably moved along the support rods, i.e., the Z-axis direction, via a third motor driven by a lead screw. During initialization, the second motor drives the pulley to move the Y-axis moving platform, the first motor drives the pulley to move the X-axis moving platform, and initializes the position of the atomizer nozzle. The third motor drives the Z-axis moving platform through the lead screw to initialize the height of the sampling dish. During spraying, the first motor drives the pulley to move the X-axis moving platform, so that the position of the atomizer nozzle moves synchronously with the position of the sampling plate.

[0012] The atomizer droplet size calibration device further includes a microscope for image acquisition towards the sampling dish and an image processing system connected to the microscope to count the number and size of droplets. The sampling dish is a 70mm diameter culture dish filled with 2mm deep silicone oil for collecting droplets and maintaining their spherical shape.

[0013] The calibration methods for atomizer droplet size calibration equipment include, Take the sampling dish out of the refrigerator and place it on the Z-axis moving platform. Turn on the atomizer and wait for the spray to stabilize. Then, activate the sampling plate moving device and the X-axis moving platform to move the sampling plate and nozzle synchronously. Remove the mask, and after the sampling dish completes droplet sampling via the sampling plate, turn off the atomizer and remove the sampling plate. The sampling dish was moved to a microscope for image acquisition, and the images were imported into an image processing system to count the number and size of the droplets.

[0014] In the aforementioned atomizer droplet size calibration device, during image processing, The image processing system converts RGB images to grayscale images. To enhance image contrast, a contrast-constrained adaptive histogram equalization algorithm is used. The image is first divided into several regions, and then equalization is performed individually in each region based on a specific output histogram distribution. Finally, adjacent regions are stitched together using linear interpolation. Each specified small region has 12 rows and 12 columns. Use Gaussian filtering to reduce noise caused by contrast enhancement. Binarize the image by automatically determining the threshold. Median filtering removes salt-and-pepper noise, i.e., random black dots appearing in the background. Inverting the colors of the image makes subsequent processing easier. Remove incomplete droplets that are in contact with the edges of the image. In the inverted image, the droplet appears as a white border and a black highlighted top, filling the hole caused by the highlighted top of the droplet. Remove small noise points smaller than a predetermined threshold. A distance transformation is applied to the area of ​​the white droplets. In the image matrix, background pixels are defined as having a value of 0, droplet pixels in neighboring regions have smaller values, and droplet pixels further away have larger values. The result of the distance transformation is normalized, i.e., the image is restored to its original form before the distance transformation, which facilitates subsequent processing. A watershed transform is performed on the image, where the highest value among the droplet pixels in the matrix obtained from the distance transform is considered a peak. If there are multiple peaks in the same connected region, the connected region is cut along the troughs until each connected region has only one peak, thus segmenting the overlapping droplets. All pixels with corner or edge contact are considered as a connected region. After the above processing, each connected region is a droplet. The number and size of the connected regions are counted. Here, the number of connected regions is the number of droplets, and the size of the connected regions is the number of pixels. The actual droplet area and particle size are obtained by converting the pixel length and the actual length.

[0015] In the calibration method described above, the droplet size of the atomizer is 5-20 μm, and the image is acquired using a magnification of 200x.

[0016] In the calibration method described above, the sampling plate is a rectangular acrylic plate of 150mm×180mm with a thickness of 6mm and a rectangular opening of 10mm×100mm in the middle. This allows the droplets entering the sampling dish at the same time to be controlled within a predetermined range and limits the spray time for each area to prevent droplet aggregation and thus increase the droplet size.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This invention enables precise calibration of nebulizer droplet size, improving the effectiveness of nebulization therapy. It meets the real-time monitoring needs of clinical practice while reducing costs and operational complexity. Image processing technology enhances the accuracy and reliability of droplet size measurement.

[0018] The description provided is merely an overview of the technical solution of this invention. In order to make the technical means of this invention clearer and more understandable, so that those skilled in the art can implement it according to the contents of the specification, and to make the described and other objects, features and advantages of this invention more obvious and understandable, specific embodiments of this invention are described below. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Various other advantages and benefits of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the invention, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings.

[0020] In the attached diagram: Figure 1 This is an overall structural diagram of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the clamp and the moving part of the sampling dish of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a diagram of the fixture structure of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the sampling plate and its moving device of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a sampling flowchart of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the image processing of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the image before droplet processing in the image processing of this invention; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the droplet image after image processing according to the present invention, with the droplet edge and centroid marked; Figure 9 This is a droplet diameter-frequency histogram of the present invention; Figure 10 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention; Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the initial position of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention; Figure 12 This is a side view of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention.

[0021] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Detailed Implementation

[0022] Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While specific embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the invention can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the invention and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0023] It should be noted that certain terms are used in the specification and claims to refer to specific components. Those skilled in the art will understand that different terms may be used to refer to the same component. This specification and claims do not distinguish components based on differences in terminology, but rather on differences in function. The terms "comprising" or "including" used throughout the specification and claims are open-ended and should be interpreted as "comprising but not limited to." The following descriptions are preferred embodiments for carrying out the invention; however, these descriptions are for the purpose of understanding the general principles of the specification and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The scope of protection of this invention is determined by the appended claims.

[0024] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, the following will provide further explanation and description with reference to the accompanying drawings and several specific embodiments, and the accompanying drawings do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention.

[0025] To better understand, such as Figures 1 to 12 As shown, an atomizer droplet size calibration device includes, Sampling dish moving part 1, which includes, The frame 5 is a frame structure, which includes a Y-axis moving platform 16, an X-axis moving platform 17, and a Z-axis moving platform 6. The sampling dish 4 is supported on the Z-axis moving platform 6. Fixture 2, which is disposed on the X-axis moving platform 17, includes, The fixture 18 is mounted on the X-axis moving platform 17. A bidirectional lead screw 10 is mounted on the fixture seat 18. The fourth motor 19 is driven by a bidirectional lead screw 10. A pair of clamping plates 11 with sponge between them are connected to the bidirectional screw 10 to switch between clamping and releasing to flexibly clamp the atomizer nozzle that sprays droplets toward the sampling dish. Sampling plate and its moving device 3, which includes, The slide table 15 is mounted on the frame 5. The fifth motor 14 is connected to the slide table 15 for driving. The sampling plate 13 is mounted on the slide 15 and is controllably moved under the drive of the fifth motor 14 to align the sampling dish.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the atomizer droplet size calibration device, a rectangular opening is provided in the middle of the sampling plate to make the droplets entering the sampling dish at the same time controllable.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment of the atomizer droplet size calibration device, the sampling height of the droplets ejected from the atomizer nozzle is related to the moving speed of the sampling plate.

[0028] In a preferred embodiment of the atomizer droplet size calibration device, the sampling plate and its moving device 3 further include a shield 12 connected to the sampling plate 13 to cover the sampling plate 13 after the droplet sampling is completed.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment of the atomizer droplet size calibration device, the Y-axis moving platform 16 is mounted on both sides and fixed to the support rods of the frame 5 with screws, allowing relative movement between them. It is connected to the second motor 8 via pulleys to controllably provide movement in the Y-axis direction. The X-axis moving platform 17 is mounted on a support rod fixed to the Y-axis moving platform 16 with screws and can move relative to it. It is connected to the first motor 7 via a pulley, thereby driving the Y-axis moving platform 16 to move controllably. The Z-axis moving platform 6 is mounted between two support rods fixed to the frame 5 with screws and is controllably moved along the support rods, i.e., the Z-axis direction, by a third motor 9 driven by a lead screw. During initialization, the second motor 8 drives the pulley to move the Y-axis moving platform 16, and the first motor 7 drives the pulley to move the X-axis moving platform 17, thus initializing the position of the atomizer nozzle. The third motor 9 drives the Z-axis moving platform 6 through the lead screw to initialize the height of the sampling dish 4. During the spraying process, the first motor 7 drives the pulley to move the X-axis moving platform 17, so that the position of the atomizer nozzle moves synchronously with the position of the sampling plate.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment of the atomizer droplet size calibration device, it further includes a microscope for image acquisition towards the sampling dish and an image processing system connected to the microscope to count the number and size of droplets. The sampling dish is a 70mm diameter culture dish containing 2mm deep silicone oil for collecting droplets and maintaining their spherical shape.

[0031] The calibration methods for atomizer droplet size calibration equipment include, Take the sampling dish out of the refrigerator and place it on the Z-axis moving platform 6. Turn on the atomizer and wait for the spray to stabilize. Then, activate the sampling plate moving device and the X-axis moving platform 17 to move the sampling plate and nozzle synchronously. Remove the mask. After the sampling dish completes droplet sampling via the sampling plate, turn off the atomizer and remove the sampling plate. The sampling dish was moved to a microscope for image acquisition, and the images were imported into an image processing system to count the number and size of the droplets.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment of the method, see [link to previous document]. Figures 6 to 8 When the image processing system processes the image, The image processing system converts RGB images to grayscale images. To enhance image contrast, a contrast-constrained adaptive histogram equalization algorithm is used. The image is first divided into several regions, and then equalization is performed individually in each region based on a specific output histogram distribution. Finally, adjacent regions are stitched together using linear interpolation. Each specified small region has 12 rows and 12 columns. Use Gaussian filtering to reduce noise caused by contrast enhancement. Binarize the image by automatically determining the threshold. Median filtering removes salt-and-pepper noise, i.e., random black dots appearing in the background. Inverting the colors of the image makes subsequent processing easier. Remove incomplete droplets that are in contact with the edges of the image. In the inverted image, the droplet appears as a white border and a black highlighted top, filling the hole caused by the highlighted top of the droplet. Remove small noise points smaller than a predetermined threshold. A distance transformation is applied to the area of ​​the white droplets. In the image matrix, background pixels are defined as having a value of 0, droplet pixels in neighboring regions have smaller values, and droplet pixels further away have larger values. The result of the distance transformation is normalized, i.e., the image is restored to its original form before the distance transformation, which facilitates subsequent processing. A watershed transform is performed on the image, where the highest value among the droplet pixels in the matrix obtained from the distance transform is considered a peak. If there are multiple peaks in the same connected region, the connected region is cut along the troughs until each connected region has only one peak, thus segmenting the overlapping droplets. All pixels with corner or edge contact are considered as a connected region. After the above processing, each connected region is a droplet. The number and size of the connected regions are counted. Here, the number of connected regions is the number of droplets, and the size of the connected regions is the number of pixels. The actual droplet area and particle size are obtained by converting the pixel length and the actual length.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment of the calibration method, the droplet size of the atomizer is 5-20 μm, and the image is acquired using a magnification of 200x.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the calibration method, the sampling plate is a rectangular acrylic plate of 150mm×180mm with a thickness of 6mm and a rectangular opening of 10mm×100mm in the middle. This controls the droplets entering the sampling dish at the same time within a predetermined range and limits the spray time for each area to prevent droplet aggregation and resulting in larger droplet size.

[0035] In one embodiment, an atomizer droplet size calibration device includes: Sampling dish moving part 1, which includes, Frame 5 is a frame structure. The Y-axis moving platform 16 is mounted on both sides of the frame 5 and fixed between the support rods of the frame 5 with screws, allowing relative movement between them. It is connected to the second motor 8 via pulleys to controllably provide movement in the Y-axis direction. The X-axis moving platform 17 is mounted on a support rod fixed to the Y-axis moving platform 16 with screws and can move relative to it. It is connected to the first motor 7 via a pulley, thereby driving the Y-axis moving platform 16 to move controllably. The Z-axis moving platform 6 is mounted between two support rods fixed to the frame 5 with screws and is controllably moved along the support rods (i.e., the Z-axis direction) via a lead screw driven by a third motor 9. The sampling dish 4 is supported on the Z-axis moving platform 6, and the platform supports the sampling dish 4. During initialization, the second motor 8 drives the pulley, moving the Y-axis moving platform 16. The first motor 7 drives the pulley, moving the X-axis moving platform 17, thus initializing the atomizer nozzle position. The third motor 9 drives the Z-axis moving platform 6 via a lead screw, initializing the height of the sampling dish 4. During spraying, the first motor 7 drives the pulley, moving the X-axis moving platform 17, so that the atomizer nozzle position moves synchronously with the sampling plate position. Fixture 2, which is disposed on the Z-axis moving platform 6, includes, The fixture base 18 is mounted on the Z-axis moving platform 6. A bidirectional lead screw 10 is mounted on the fixture seat 18. The fourth motor 19 is driven by a bidirectional lead screw 10. A pair of clamping plates 11 with sponge between them are connected to the bidirectional lead screw 10 to switch between clamping and releasing to flexibly clamp the atomizer nozzle. Sampling plate and its moving device 3, which includes, The slide table 15 is mounted on the frame 5. The fifth motor 14 is connected to the slide table 15. The sampling plate 13 is mounted on the slide 15 and is controllably moved under the drive of the fifth motor 14 to align the sampling dish.

[0036] In one embodiment, the droplet image acquisition process is as follows: The self-developed ultrasonic spray system and droplet collection device use physiological saline as the atomized medium. It mainly consists of a mouthpiece holder, mouthpiece, bellows, and connectors. This part is not a self-designed component and can be replaced with any atomizer. The desired atomization effect is achieved by adjusting the atomization volume and airflow knobs.

[0037] The droplet collection device mainly consists of a sampling platform, sampling dish, sampling plate, shield, sampling plate moving device, and three-coordinate moving support. The sampling dish is a 70mm diameter petri dish filled with approximately 2mm of silicone oil (1000CS). Silicone oil is colorless, odorless, insoluble in water, and has a density of 975kg / m³ at room temperature, slightly less than water. Droplets collected by the sampling dish can remain suspended in the silicone oil for a long time and maintain their spherical shape. To reduce droplet aggregation, diffusion deformation, and evaporation, the sampling dish, already coated with silicone oil, is refrigerated before the experiment. The sampling plate is a 150mm × 180mm rectangular acrylic plate, 6mm thick, with a 10mm × 100mm rectangular opening in the center. Its function is similar to a camera shutter, controlling the number of droplets entering the sampling dish within a certain range at the same time and limiting the spray time in each area to prevent droplet aggregation and increased droplet size. The droplet sampling height and the motor speed of the sampling plate moving are adjusted.

[0038] Sampling workflow: Remove the sampling dish from the refrigerated compartment and place it on the sampling platform. Turn on the spray system and wait for the spray to stabilize before opening the sampling plate moving device and removing the shield to prevent deviations caused by unstable startup of the spray and moving systems. After completing droplet sampling, turn off the spray system, remove the sampling plate, and quickly move the sampling dish to the microscope for image acquisition. Adjust the microscope magnification according to the different droplet sizes. The droplet size of the nebulizer is generally 5-20μm, and a magnification of 200x is commonly used for image acquisition.

[0039] The droplet image processing procedure of this invention is as follows: Convert an RGB image to a grayscale image.

[0040] Use the CLAHE algorithm to enhance image contrast.

[0041] Use Gaussian filtering to reduce noise caused by contrast enhancement.

[0042] Binarize the image by automatically determining the threshold.

[0043] Median filtering removes salt and pepper noise.

[0044] Inverting the colors of the image makes subsequent processing easier.

[0045] Remove incomplete droplets that come into contact with the edges of the image.

[0046] Fill the holes caused by the highlighted part at the top of the droplet.

[0047] The final step is to remove small noise points smaller than a certain threshold.

[0048] Distance transformation is applied to the range of the white droplets.

[0049] The results of the distance transformation are normalized.

[0050] Watershed transform is applied to the image to segment overlapping droplets.

[0051] The number and size of connected regions are counted, i.e. the number and size of droplets.

[0052] In one embodiment, an atomizer droplet size calibration device includes a fixture and sampling dish moving part, a fixture, a sampling plate and its moving device, and a sampling dish. The fixture and sampling dish moving part includes a frame, an X-axis moving platform, a Y-axis moving platform, a Z-axis moving platform, and a first motor, a second motor, and a third motor. The fixture includes a fourth motor, a bidirectional lead screw, clamping plates, and a fixture base. The sampling plate and its moving device include a shield, a sampling plate, a fifth motor, and a slide. The sampling dish is placed on the Z-axis moving platform of the fixture and sampling dish moving part for collecting atomized droplets. In the fixture, the fourth motor is connected to the fixture base, the bidirectional lead screw is connected to the fourth motor and fixed to the fixture base with bearings at both ends, and two clamping plates are fixed relative to each other on the bidirectional threads of the bidirectional lead screw. A shield is provided on the sampling plate, the sampling plate is fixed on the slide, and the fifth motor is fixed to the side of the slide to provide power.

[0053] The sampling dish is a 70mm diameter petri dish filled with approximately 2mm deep silicone oil (1000CS) to collect droplets and maintain their spherical shape.

[0054] In droplet image acquisition and processing, a self-developed ultrasonic spray system and droplet acquisition device, using physiological saline as the atomized medium, mainly consists of a mouthpiece seat, mouthpiece, bellows, connector, etc.

[0055] Sampling workflow: Take the sampling dish out of the refrigerator and place it on the sampling platform. Turn on the spray system and wait for the spray to stabilize. Then turn on the sampling plate moving device, remove the mask, and after completing the droplet sampling, turn off the spray system, remove the sampling plate, and quickly move the sampling dish to the microscope for image acquisition.

[0056] Image processing steps: Convert the RGB image to grayscale, use the CLAHE algorithm to enhance image contrast, use Gaussian filtering to reduce noise, perform image binarization, use median filtering to remove salt-and-pepper noise, perform color inversion, remove incomplete droplets that are in contact with image edges, fill holes, remove small noise, perform distance transform and normalization, use watershed transform to segment overlapping droplets, and count the number and size of droplets. The basic principles of this application have been described above with reference to specific embodiments. However, it should be noted that the advantages, benefits, and effects mentioned in this application are merely examples and not limitations, and should not be considered as essential features of each embodiment of this application. Furthermore, the specific details disclosed above are for illustrative and facilitative purposes only, and are not limitations. These details do not limit the application to the necessity of employing the aforementioned specific details for implementation.

[0057] The above description has been given for purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, this description is not intended to limit the embodiments of this application to the forms disclosed herein. Although numerous exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those skilled in the art will recognize certain variations, modifications, alterations, additions, and sub-combinations thereof.

Claims

1. A device for calibrating the droplet size of an atomizer, characterized in that, It includes, The sampling dish moving part (1) includes, The frame (5) is a frame structure, which includes a Y-axis moving platform (16), an X-axis moving platform (17) and a Z-axis moving platform (6), and the sampling dish (4) is supported on the Z-axis moving platform (6). The fixture (2) is located on the X-axis moving platform (17). The fixture (2) includes: A fixture (18) is mounted on the X-axis moving platform (17). A two-way lead screw (10) is mounted on the fixture seat (18). The fourth motor (19) is driven by a bidirectional lead screw (10). A pair of clamps (11) with sponge between them are connected to the bidirectional screw (10) to switch between clamping and releasing to flexibly clamp the atomizer nozzle that sprays droplets toward the sampling dish. The sampling plate and its moving device (3) include, A slide (15) is mounted on the frame (5). The fifth motor (14) is connected to the slide (15) for driving. The sampling plate (13) is mounted on the slide (15) and is controllably moved under the drive of the fifth motor (14) to align the sampling dish.

2. The atomizer droplet size calibration device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Preferably, the sampling plate has a rectangular opening in the middle, so that the droplets entering the sampling dish at the same time are controllable.

3. The atomizer droplet size calibration device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The sampling height of the droplets ejected from the atomizer nozzle is related to the moving speed of the sampling plate.

4. The atomizer droplet size calibration device as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The sampling plate and its moving device (3) also include a shield (12) connected to the sampling plate (13) to cover the sampling plate (13) after the droplet sampling is completed.

5. The atomizer droplet size calibration device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The Y-axis moving platform (16) is mounted on both sides between the support rods fixed to the frame (5) with screws and can move relative to it. It is connected to the second motor (8) through a pulley to provide controllable movement in the Y-axis direction. The X-axis moving platform (17) is mounted on a support rod fixed to the Y-axis moving platform (16) with screws and can move relative to it. It is connected to the first motor (7) via a pulley, thereby driving the Y-axis moving platform (16) to move controllably. The Z-axis moving platform (6) is mounted between two support rods fixed to the frame (5) with screws and can be controllably moved along the support rods, i.e., the Z-axis direction, via a lead screw driven by a third motor (9). During the initialization process, the second motor (8) drives the pulley to move the Y-axis moving platform (16), the first motor (7) drives the pulley to move the X-axis moving platform (17) to initialize the position of the atomizer nozzle, and the third motor (9) drives the Z-axis moving platform (6) through the lead screw to initialize the height of the sampling dish (4). During the spraying process, the first motor (7) drives the pulley to move the X-axis moving platform (17) to move the position of the atomizer nozzle synchronously with the position of the sampling plate.

6. The atomizer droplet size calibration device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a microscope for acquiring images toward a sampling dish and an image processing system connected to the microscope to count the number and size of droplets. The sampling dish is a 70 mm diameter petri dish filled with 2 mm deep silicone oil to collect droplets and maintain their spherical shape.

7. The calibration method for the atomizer droplet size calibration device as described in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, It includes, Take the sampling dish out of the refrigerator and place it on the Z-axis moving platform (6). Turn on the atomizer, wait for the spray to stabilize, then turn on the sampling plate moving device and the X-axis moving platform (17) to move the sampling plate and the atomizer nozzle synchronously. Remove the cover, and after the sampling dish completes droplet sampling through the sampling plate, turn off the atomizer and remove the sampling plate. The sampling dish was moved to a microscope for image acquisition, and the images were imported into an image processing system to count the number and size of the droplets.

8. The calibration method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, When the image processing system processes the image, The image processing system converts RGB images to grayscale images. To enhance image contrast, a contrast-constrained adaptive histogram equalization algorithm is used. The image is first divided into several regions, and then equalization is performed individually in each region based on a specific output histogram distribution. Finally, adjacent regions are stitched together using linear interpolation. Each specified small region has 12 rows and 12 columns. Use Gaussian filtering to reduce noise caused by contrast enhancement. Binarize the image by automatically determining the threshold. Median filtering removes salt-and-pepper noise, i.e., random black dots appearing in the background. Inverting the colors of the image makes subsequent processing easier. Remove incomplete droplets that are in contact with the edges of the image. In the inverted image, the droplet appears as a white border and a black highlighted top, filling the hole caused by the highlighted top of the droplet. Remove small noise points smaller than a predetermined threshold. A distance transformation is applied to the area of ​​the white droplets. In the image matrix, background pixels are defined as having a value of 0, droplet pixels in neighboring regions have smaller values, and droplet pixels further away have larger values. The result of the distance transformation is normalized, i.e., the image is restored to its original form before the distance transformation, which facilitates subsequent processing. A watershed transform is performed on the image, where the highest value among the droplet pixels in the matrix obtained from the distance transform is considered a peak. If there are multiple peaks in the same connected region, the connected region is cut along the troughs until each connected region has only one peak, thus segmenting the overlapping droplets. All pixels with corner or edge contact are considered as a connected region. After the above processing, each connected region is a droplet. The number and size of the connected regions are counted. Here, the number of connected regions is the number of droplets, and the size of the connected regions is the number of pixels. The actual droplet area and particle size are obtained by converting the pixel length and the actual length.

9. The calibration method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The droplet size of the atomizer is 5-20μm, and the image is acquired using a magnification of 200x.

10. The calibration method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The sampling plate is a rectangular acrylic plate of 150mm×180mm, 6mm thick, with a rectangular opening of 10mm×100mm in the middle. This allows the droplets entering the sampling dish at the same time to be controlled within a predetermined range and limits the spray time for each area to prevent droplet aggregation and thus increase the droplet size.

Images