Droplet delivery device with filtering

Abstract

An aerosol delivery device including a liquid supply, an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply, and filter media or inertial filter points between the ejector and a droplets outlet to reduce the droplet size distribution of ejected droplets to smaller droplets exiting the droplets outlet.

Description

DROPLET DELIVERY DEVICE WITH FILTERINGCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 605.917 filed December 4. 2023, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 701.564 filed September 30, 2024, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This disclosure relates to droplet delivery devices and more specifically to droplet delivery devices for the delivery of fluids that are inhaled into mouth, throat, nose and / or lungs, including therapeutic and non-therapeutic compositions that can be aerosolized.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present application incorporates herein by reference in their entirety the contents of WO 2020 / 264501 (describing “Ring Mode” ejection), PCT / US2022 / 034552 (describing “Push Mode” ejection), U.S. Pat. No. 10,449,314 (describing dose verification) and US Patent Application Pub. No. 20190134330 (describing user feedback and instructions).

[0004] There is a need for improvements to conventional aerosol devices, and Ring Mode and Push Mode ejection devices that results in droplets of desired compositions of sufficiently small sizes so that droplets can reach deep into lungs, cause less irritation to users and optimize the delivery of compositions to the desired body targets of a user’s inhalation pathway.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] To address this need, an aerosol delivery device includes a liquid supply, an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply, and filter media or inertial filter points between the ej ector and a droplets outlet to reduce the droplet size distribution of ejected droplets to smaller droplets exiting the droplets outlet.

[0006] In one example, an aerosol delivery device comprises, a liquid supply, an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet; and a filter that includes at least one of a porous material, cellular material, and a lattice-type structure between the ejector and the droplets outlet.

[0007] In some examples, the liquid supply includes a solution including nicotine.

[0008] In some examples, the filter is open cell foam. In some cases, the open cell foam comprises polyurethane.

[0009] In some examples, the ejector of a droplet delivery device includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transducer optionally including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate. Such examples are referred to as a “push mode'’ ejector.

[0010] In some examples, the ejector of a droplet delivery device includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer. Such examples are referred to as a “ring mode” ejector.

[0011] In examples, an aerosol delivery device includes a heating element.

[0012] In various examples, a droplet delivery device is an electronic cigarette.

[0013] In examples, an aerosol delivery device includes a removable filter.

[0014] In examples, an aerosol delivery device filter is configurable for user preference. In further examples, the configurable filter enables a user to set preferences for the droplet delivery device to be used as an e-cigarette. In other examples, the configurable filter enables a user or someone participating in treatment of a user to set preferences for the droplet delivery device to be used for therapeutic purposes, including administering medicines, therapeutic agents, antivirals, vaccines, smoking cessation therapy and other treatments.

[0015] In some examples, an aerosol delivery' device includes a droplets outlet in a curved mouthpiece.

[0016] In another example, an aerosol delivery device includes a liquid supply, an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet; and a filter configured to attenuate mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of ejected droplets from the droplet ejector to the droplets outlet.

[0017] In another example, an aerosol delivery device includes a liquid supply, an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet, and a curved aerosol pathway between the ejector and droplets outlet that includes a plurality' of inertial filter impact points along the pathway. In some examples, a droplet delivery device with a curved aerosol pathway includes a filter coupled to the pathway. In a particular example, such a filter may be a porous material, cellular material, and a latticetype structure coupled to the aerosol pathway.

[0018] In other examples, an aerosol delivery' device includes a plurality of curved aerosol pathways between the ejector and droplets outlet wherein each pathway includes a plurality of inertial filter impact points along the pathway. In some cases, one or more filtersmay be coupled to one or more of the pathways, including a fdter coupled to each pathway. In particular examples, such filters may be a porous material, cellular material, and a lattice-type structure coupled to the aerosol pathway.

[0019] In another example, an aerosol delivery device with a curved aerosol pathway includes at least one filter configured to attenuate mass median aerodynamic diameter of ejected droplets from a droplet ejector to a droplets outlet coupled to the curved aerosol pathway.

[0020] In examples, an aerosol delivery device includes a liquid supply, an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet, and an aerosol pathway in fluid communication with the droplets outlet and the ej ector wherein the aerosol pathway includes a plurality of deposition pockets shaped to capture deposition of droplets and discouraging deposition on the ejector. In some examples, the pockets are curves. In some examples, the pockets include walls. In some examples, the walls of a pocket having walls are inclined to assist in directing deposition of droplets that impact aerosol pathway walls into pockets and discourage deposition back on to the ejector.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery' device with a cartridge holding liquid to be ejected, push mode ejector and a filter in the aerosol pathway so that the aerosol with droplets moves through the filter.

[0022] FIG. 2 is cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device configured to pull liquid from a filter using a pulling wick, with higher capillary action than the filter, that pulls the liquid from the filter, and a holding wick, with higher capillary action than the pulling wick, that takes the liquid from the pulling wick.

[0023] FIG. 3 is cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a curved mouthpiece such that aerosol that has been generated travels up the aerosol pathway and encounters a curv e in order to exit the droplets outlet of the mouthpiece.

[0024] FIG. 4 is cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a curved mouthpiece including a filter in the mouthpiece.

[0025] FIGS. 5-7 are cross-sectional schematic views of a droplet delivery device illustrating three designs to decrease the mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of an aerosol. FIG. 5 illustrates twists and turns creating multiple inertial filter impact points at each turn, and also increases the flight distance to increase the amount of time the aerosol takes to exit the mouthpiece, which increases the amount of evaporation, and lowers the MMAD. FIG.6 illustrates a droplet delivery device which splits the aerosol pathway into two pathways and creates two main inertial filter points and includes a center piece that is then used to collect any droplets that are caught in pockets of curves of the aerosol pathways. FIG. 7 a single large inertial filter point that splits the aerosol pathway into two pathways after the filter point so that droplets may get caught in pockets of the pathways and some may fall back down into the single aerosol pathway.

[0026] FIGS. 8-12 are cross-sectional schematic views of inertial filter point and splitting of aerosol pathways of droplet delivery devices.

[0027] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a spiral design for an aerosol pathway \to increase the travel distance and flight time of the aerosol from an ejector to droplets outlet so that the increase in the travel distance increases evaporation and lowers the overall MMAD.

[0028] FIG. 14 is photographic image of an open celled foam as a filter medium of an droplet delivery' device to capture and / or break up aerosol droplets, including having a lathee- like structure that is advantageous for breaking up large droplets as the droplets impact the structure at various points.

[0029] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a filter and a push mode ejector including an ejector plate that is coupled with, but not fixed to, a vibrating member to generate aerosol.

[0030] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a filter and a ring mode ejector mechanism with an ejector plate fixed to a ring piezoelectric transducer to generate aerosol.

[0031] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a filter and heating element and push mode ej ector whereby heated air travels through a heated airflow channel after which it will meet the aerosol and increase the evaporation rate of the droplets, decreasing the MMAD, then the aerosol will travel down the aerosol pathway to the filter, further decreasing the MMAD further before leaving the droplets outlet of a mouthpiece.

[0032] FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a droplet delivery device including a filter and heating element and push mode ej ector whereby heated air travels through a heated airflow channel after which it will meet the aerosol and increase the evaporation rate of the droplets, decreasing the MMAD, then the aerosol will travel down the aerosol pathway to the filter, further decreasing the MMAD further before leaving the droplets outlet of a mouthpiece.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] An aerosol ejection encompasses a range of particle sizes. In the case of our inhaler this range can be anywhere from 30 micrometers and below depending on many factors. It is generally accepted that the respirable particle size range is below 5.6 pm. Additionally, when users inhale the droplets, they feel less irritation when the droplets are even smaller. This makes it important to deliver the smallest droplets possible.

[0034] In either the push mode device (300) or ring mode device (400) or any other inhaler ty pe device, a filter (10) can be placed in the aerosol pathway (120) to filter out large particles. It will act similar to a low pass filter. The filter will attenuate, or reduce the number of, large droplets / particles. It will allow the smaller particles to pass through, capturing or breaking up many of the larger droplets. The amount of particle size reduction depends on the porosity or pore density of the material, the material composition, the size or volume of the filter, and the position of the filter. The porosity7, when measured with pores per inch (PPI), can be anywhere from 15 PPI to 150 PPI.

[0035] The filter (10) is positioned in the aerosol pathway (120). The aerosol is forced to go through the filter. The filter has many twists and turns the aerosol particles must take. FIG. 14 shows a picture of an option for a filter. In focus is one layer of the filter. There will be more layers of the lattice structure when using a thicker filter. The larger particles have more mass and more momentum than the smaller particles; therefore, the larger particles will collide with the filter and get trapped in the filter during one of the twists and turns. Additionally, the structure of the filter can cut through droplets rather than trapping the droplets in the filter. The droplets may not get trapped but would get sheered or broken up. Furthermore, the droplets can be captured in the filter and then pulled through the filter, sheering / breaking them up them as the user inhales. The term "droplet reduction” is used hereafter to refer to any of the previous ways the filter can decrease the particle size. The more twists and turns the filter has, the smaller the final particle size will be. When a filter is longer it can have more twists and turns to encourage filtering out larger droplet sizes that impact the filter structure as only smaller droplet sizes move on. A filter with more twists and turns also can have less porosity or is more dense, so the twists and turns are more sharp and encourage larger droplet sizes to get trapped in the filter as the same are unable to flow through the sharper turns as compared to smaller droplet sizes.

[0036] The position of the filter (10) in the aerosol pathway (120) can affect which particles are captured. If the filter is placed closer to the ejection plate, more aerosol willinteract with the filter, causing more droplet reduction, as the particles have more initial momentum. This is because as the particles are ejected from the ejection plate, the droplets have initial momentum making it harder for the particles to traverse the filter.

[0037] Various materials can be used for the filter (10). It can be advantageous to have an open pathway for aerosol to travel through and yet the pathway is rigorous enough to cause droplet reduction. Open celled foam (FIG. 14) has shown to be one favorable option, but other materials are also advantageous. Any type of sintered material can be used. Any type of lattice could be used, such as a 3D printed one. Any type of material that creates a lattice-like structure to create a complex pathway for the aerosol to travel but open enough to allow aerosol through can be used as a filter. Any type of material to create a screen could be used as a filter. The goal is to have a structure with thin arms that aerosol can impact.

[0038] In a preferred embodiment, a 3 mm thick polyurethane filter ( 10) with a porosity of 80 PPI is used with a push mode device (300) encompassing the entire 6 mm exit tube diameter and placed near the exit of the mouthpiece (110).

[0039] In other embodiments, the filter material could be polyurethane, polycarbonate, polyethylene, PVC, polystyrene, PCTG. COC, PPSU, PTFE, nylon, ABS. PETG, TPU, polyamide, polyimide, PEEK, PPE, PET, polypropylene, PMMA, silicone, or any similar plastic. In other embodiments, the filter could be a metal such as aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, palladium, PdNi, copper, or any similar metal or metal alloy.

[0040] In other embodiments, the filter (10) could be a lattice structure that could be made through 3D printing, extrusion, sintered or similar process.

[0041] In other embodiments, the filter (10) could be a thin screen structure. This screen can be placed closer to the aerosol generation point. The screen could slice the droplets as they pass making the MMAD smaller. The screen can be made through screen printing, photolithography, etching, galvanic deposition, LIGA, or LIGA-like process, CNC machining, or wafer bonding. Additionally, the screen could be made from graphene.

[0042] The hydrophobicity of the material can be varied to increase or decrease the attraction of the aerosol to the filter material and amount of liquid the filter (10) holds. A hydrophobic material may attract less aerosol and only capture or break up the largest particles, whereas a hydrophilic filter may attract more aerosol, capturing or breaking up a larger percentage of droplets. The hydrophobicity of the material could also change the evaporation rate of captured solution off the filter.

[0043] In another embodiment, the filter (10) is treated or coated to make the filter more hydrophobic or more hydrophilic.

[0044] In another embodiment, there are multiple layers of filter material. Each layer has a different porosity, thickness, or material. This means each layer will have a different amounts of droplet reduction. The filter (10) could start with reducing only the largest droplets. The next layer could reduce slightly smaller droplets than the previous filter. The next layer could reduce even smaller droplets. This spreads out the liquid captured throughout all of the filters so it is not all in one area. This could help with increasing evaporation rate and prevent liquid from building up in one filter.

[0045] One potential downside to the filter (10) is the potential buildup of liquid. If the filter has a larger droplet reduction, the filter will collect particles. In a water-based device, the filter will collect more and more particles because water is attracted to itself. Evaporation may be adequate to maintain the same droplet reduction range. Additionally, a hydrophilic material filter can be used with a higher porosity to potentially reach the same level of droplet reduction. This method may result in a different amount of captured particles.

[0046] In another embodiment, a separate hydrophilic material, a pulling wick (2), can be added to the edges of the filter (10) to help mitigate any issues from buildup of liquid in the filter. The hydrophilic material wick transfers liquid to an area that will not come in contact with future aerosol.

[0047] The hydrophilicity of the pulling wick (20) changes the rate at which liquid is removed from the filter (10). If it is super hydrophilic, the pulling wick will move the liquid from the filter quickly to a holding wick (30). If it is barely hydrophilic, the wick will move the liquid from the filter much slower. A balance is important to allow for some of the liquid to evaporate off the filter. It is possible to change the wicking speed by design. This can be accomplished by putting a barrier between the filter and the holding wick (30). The barrier can be plastic with some holes in it to reduce the contact between the filter and the wick. The barrier could be another type of material that has a different hydrophobicity. It could be a thin wall of hydrophobic material. It could be a wall of a slightly hydrophilic material before going to a super hydrophilic wick.

[0048] The area to which the pulling wick (20) moves the liquid could be ventilated to allow for evaporation of the liquid. The wick could also be connected to the tank to put the liquid back into the tank. This could be accomplished with a Tesla valve or similar one-way fluid movement.

[0049] In a preferred embodiment, the filter (10) is placed in the cartridge (100) of the device. The cartridge is disposable and contains the liquid that is to be aerosolized. Each cartridge holds a finite number of shots, normally around 200 to 350 shots. Once this liquid isused, the cartridge is disposed. This means the filter does not have to be reused. The filter only needs to be able to hold a certain percentage of the total cartridge volume. There will also be evaporation of the liquid.

[0050] In another embodiment, a mouthpiece (110) that has a curve (40) can be included in a droplet delivery' device, see FIGS. 3 and 4. The angle for this mouthpiece can be anywhere from 10 degrees to 120 degrees. This mouthpiece serves two functions. The first function makes using the device more ergonomic. The user can hold the device in their hand in a more natural manner. The second function is for inertial filtering. Any large droplets will not be able to make the turn. The momentum of the larger droplets will cause them to crash into the wall when the aerosol pathway (12) curves. This is a form of droplet reduction because only smaller droplets can make the turn to leave the mouthpiece.

[0051] Liquid can build up inside the mouthpiece (1 10) on the wall. When this occurs, larger droplets can be flung off the wall. To remedy this, a filter (10) can be placed in the mouthpiece after the curve. This can be seen in FIG. 4. Additionally, small amounts of a wi eking material can be contacting the inner wall of the mouthpiece. The pulling wick (20) can wick away liquid residue on the surface of the wall so that none of the liquid can be flung off.

[0052] Additionally, a filter (10) can be placed before the curve in the mouthpiece (11) to eliminate some of the largest droplets. This limits the number of droplets that will impact on the curve of the mouthpiece. This will result in less buildup of liquid on the interior of the mouthpiece; therefore, it will result in less droplets getting flung off of the interior wall.

[0053] In another embodiment depicting inertial filter design 1 (210), twists and turns are used inside the mouthpiece (110) for droplet reduction, see FIG. 5. The twists and turns create several impact points (50) for inertial filtering to occur. In addition to creating inertial filtering with impact points, the twists and turns increase the travel distance for the aerosol. According to Hinds in “Aerosol Technology: Properties, Behavior, and Measurement of Airborne Particles” the time it takes for 1 to 10 micron size droplets to evaporate in 50% relative humidity is from 0.001s to 0.1s. The longer the travel distance, the more time is given to allow for evaporation of the droplets.

[0054] A filter (10) can be added at the tip and or at the beginning of the twists and turns mouthpiece (110). The filter at the end of the twists will ensure no larger droplet can get flung off the sides of the wall. The filter at beginning of the twists will eliminate the largest droplets ensuring not too much liquid is built up in the aerosol pathway (120). Pulling wicks (20) can be used to help eliminate the buildup of liquid.

[0055] In other embodiments shown in FIG. 6 with inertial filter design 2 (220) and FIG. 7 with inertial filter design 3 (230). structures are put in the aerosol pathway (120) to change the pathway as well as to create inertial filter impact points (50). Such structure funnels the aerosol to a surface as an inertial filter. The aerosol path splits into two and recombines before it exits the mouthpiece (110). The second structure splits the aerosol path first. The inertial filter impact point is when the aerosol path recombines. When the aerosol path splits, the path is extended. This longer path allows for more time for the aerosol to evaporate into smaller droplets for droplet reduction. A filter (1) can be placed before or after these designs as well. In some examples, one or more pockets (750) may be provided in the inertial filter designs that capture deposited droplets that have impacted the impact points and discourage the deposition of impacted droplets back into the immediate pathway following the ejector and depositing on the ejector. Such pockets may be curved surfaces, or have walls (755) that assist in capturing the deposited droplets in the pockets, including inclined walls (FIGS. 8-12).

[0056] Additional embodiments are shown in FIGS. 8-12. These have subtle differences on the designs from FIGS. 6 and 7. These additional inertial filter designs (240), (250), (260), (270) and (280) (FIGS. 8-12).

[0057] Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 13. This embodiment is similar to the twists and turns design but there is a spiral that goes all the way through the ejection port. The spiral design (290) increases the aerosol pathway length thereby increasing the evaporation of the droplets and causing droplet reduction.

[0058] In another embodiment, FIG. 15 shows a droplet delivery device including a filter and a push mode ejector (310) including an ejector plate that is coupled with, but not fixed to, a vibrating member to generate aerosol.

[0059] In another embodiment, FIG. 16 shows a droplet delivery device including a filter and a ring mode ejector (410) with an ejector plate fixed to a ring piezoelectric transducer to generate aerosol.

[0060] In other embodiments shown in FIGS. 17 (illustrating a heated push mode device 500) and 18 (illustrating a heated push mode device 510), a heating element (520) is added to the handpiece to provide warm air. This warming will reduce the particle size before the droplets enter the filter (10). The w arm air could also or alternatively be used to reduce the particle size after the droplets go through the filter. Additionally, the w arm air will help increase evaporation of liquid trapped in the filter or any droplets residing on the w alls of the aerosol pathway (120).

[0061] In another embodiment, the filter (10) is removable. Removing the filter allows the user to select whether or not to have droplet reduction. This means the user will feel the droplets more upon inhalation. Additionally, a removable filter means the user can clean the filter. A cleaning kit and or instructions can be provided to the user(s).

[0062] In another embodiment, there are several different filters (10) or droplet reduction methods for the user to select from. Each filter or droplet reduction method available for the user provides a different experience due to different levels of droplet reduction. The differences in the filter can be either thickness or porosity. It could also be an inertial filter insert, a curved mouthpiece, a spiral design, etc. The user can remove the filter or droplet reduction method and put in a new one. Additionally, the filter or droplet reduction method can be part of the mouthpiece (110); therefore, the user can change mouthpieces to achieve the desired experience or aerosol MMAD.

[0063] Table 1 below shows data collected with a 30 PPI open celled foam using an aerosol delivery7device with a solution containing nicotine. Each row of data consisted of the same ejector but a different filter combination. The first column is the distance between the ejector plate and the filter. The last three columns are droplet size data. The droplet size is a distribution and the Dx(10), Dx(50), and Dx(90) data points are the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of the distribution. The first row of data is with no filter material. The 90th percentile (Dx(90)) is the important piece of data. This data shows that a filter reduces the number of larger droplets. It also illustrates that a thicker filter reduces the number of larger droplets even further. Finally, this data illustrates that more larger droplets are reduced when the filter is closer to the ejector.

[0064] Table 1

[0065] The element numbers are provided in Table 2 for convenient reference with respect to the descriptions and figures provided herein.

[0066] Table 2

[0067] Various embodiments of the invention have been described. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth by the disclosure. This specification is to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Claims

What is Claimed:

1. An aerosol delivery’ device comprising: a liquid supply; an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet; and a filter that includes at least one of a porous material, cellular material, and a lattice-type structure between the ejector and the droplets outlet.

2. The aerosol device of claim 1, wherein the liquid supply includes a solution including nicotine.

3. The aerosol delivery device of any of claim 2, wherein the filter is open cell foam.

4. The aerosol delivery’ device of any of claim 1, wherein the filter is open cell foam.

5. The aerosol delivery device of claim 4, wherein the open cell foam comprises polyurethane.

6. The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the open cell foam comprises polyurethane.

7. The aerosol delivery device of claim 6, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transducer optionally including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate.

8. The aerosol delivery7device of claim 5, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transducer optionally including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate.

9. The aerosol delivery7device of claim 4, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transducer optionally7including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate.

10. The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transducer optionally including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate.

11. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transduceroptionally including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate.

12. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures between the droplets outlet and an electronic transducer optionally including a membrane that is in fluid communication with the liquid supply and coupled without fixation to the ejector plate.

13. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer.

14. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer.

15. The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer.

16. The aerosol delivery device of claim 4, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer.

17. The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer.

18. The aerosol delivery device of claim 6, wherein the ejector includes an ejector plate with apertures fixed to an electronic transducer.

19. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the device includes a heating element.

20. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the device includes a heating element.

21. The aerosol delivery7device of claim 3, wherein the device includes a heating element.

22. The aerosol delivery device of claim 4, wherein the device includes a heating element.

23. The aerosol delivery7device of claim 5, wherein the device includes a heating element.

24. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein the device includes a heating element.

25. The aerosol delivery device of claim 13, wherein the device includes a heating element.

26. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the device is an electronic cigarette.

27. The aerosol delivery device of claim 26, wherein the filter is removable.

28. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the filter is removable.

29. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the filter is removable.

30. The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the filter is removable.

31. The aerosol delivery device of claim 4, wherein the filter is removable.

32. The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein the filter is removable.

33. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12. wherein the filter is removable.

34. The aerosol delivery device of claim 13, wherein the filter is removable.

35. The aerosol delivery device of claim 19, wherein the filter is removable.

36. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the filter is configurable for user preference.

37. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the filter is configurable for user preference.

38. The aerosol delivery device of claim 26, wherein the filter is configurable for user preference.

39. The aerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

40. The aerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

41. The aerosol delivery device of claim 3, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

42. The aerosol delivery device of claim 4, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

43. The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

44. The aerosol delivery device of claim 12, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

45. The aerosol delivery device of claim 13, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

46. The aerosol delivery device of claim 26, wherein the droplets outlet is in a curved mouthpiece.

47. An aerosol delivery device comprising: a liquid supply;an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet; and a filter configured to attenuate mass median aerodynamic diameter of ejected droplets from the droplet ejector to the droplets outlet.

48. The aerosol device of claim 47, wherein the liquid supply includes a solution including nicotine.

49. The aerosol delivery device of any of claim 48, wherein the filter is open cell foam.

50. The aerosol delivery device of any of claim 47, wherein the filter is open cell foam.

51. The aerosol delivery device of claim 50, wherein the open cell foam comprises polyurethane.

52. The aerosol delivery device of claim 48, wherein the device is an electronic cigarette.

53. An aerosol delivery device comprising: a liquid supply; an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet; and a curved aerosol pathway between the ejector and droplets outlet that includes a plurality of inertial filter impact points along the pathway.

54. The aerosol delivery device of claim 53, further comprising a plurality of curved aerosol pathways between the ejector and droplets outlet wherein each pathway includes a plurality of inertial filter impact points along the pathway .

55. The aerosol delivery device of claim 54, further comprising at least one filter of a porous material, cellular material, and a lattice-type structure coupled to one or more the curved aerosol pathways.

56. The aerosol delivery device of claim 53, further comprising at least one filter of a porous material, cellular material, and a lattice-type structure coupled to the curved aerosol pathway.

57. The aerosol delivery device of claim 53, further comprising at least one filter configured to attenuate mass median aerodynamic diameter of ejected droplets from the droplet ejector to the droplets outlet coupled to the curved aerosol pathway.

58. An aerosol delivery device comprising:a liquid supply; an electronically actuated droplet ejector in fluid communication with the liquid supply and a droplets outlet; and an aerosol pathway in fluid communication with the droplets outlet and the ejector wherein the aerosol pathway includes a plurality of deposition pockets shaped to capture deposition of droplets and discouraging deposition on the ejector.

59. The droplet device of claim 58, wherein the pockets are curves.

60. The droplet device of claim 58, wherein the pockets include walls.

61. The droplet device of claim 60, wherein the walls are inclined.

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