Adjustable Nasal Dosing Device with Pressure-Driven Aerosol Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current nasal delivery devices face challenges in dose control, delivery accuracy, and the ability to administer multiple medications or unstable compounds, as they often rely on fixed doses and lack mechanisms for reproducible aerosol characteristics and separate storage of components for stability and effective absorption.
Innovation Solution
A device that utilizes a combination of parameters such as pressure, gas volume, and orifice diameter to optimize aerosol characteristics for improved delivery and absorption, featuring a capsule system that allows for adjustable dosing and separate storage of components, which are mixed at the time of administration to enhance delivery efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fixed dose delivery is used in nasal devices, then manufacturing and operation are simplified, but adaptability to different patient needs and treatment conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates an adjustable dosing mechanism that allows the dose size to be changed by the user through a dial or similar interface. This dynamic adjustment capability enables the same device to deliver different doses (e.g., 10μl, 20μl, 30μl) depending on patient weight, age, and treatment requirements, resolving the contradiction between operational simplicity and adaptability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable dosing is implemented in nasal delivery devices, then adaptability to different patient needs is improved, but manufacturing precision and aerosol reproducibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a pressure-driven aerosol generation system where the dose volume is controlled by adjusting the pressure applied to the liquid reservoir. This parameter-based control method (changing pressure and volume parameters) allows for precise and reproducible aerosol delivery across different dose settings without requiring complex mechanical dosing mechanisms, thus maintaining manufacturing precision while achieving adaptability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If multiple medications are stored separately for stability, then compound stability is improved, but device complexity and mixing capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device utilizes a multi-compartment reservoir system where different medications or formulations can be stored in separate compartments. This segmentation allows each compound to be stored under optimal stability conditions while preventing premature interaction. The compartments are designed to be breached or mixed only at the time of administration, resolving the contradiction between stability and mixing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The device prepares multiple medications in separate stable compartments beforehand, and only performs the mixing action at the precise moment of administration when needed. This preliminary separation followed by timed mixing allows medications to maintain stability during storage and transport, while still achieving the desired mixed formulation delivery when required.
4Stability of the object's composition
If separate storage of drug components is used, then stability and functionality are improved, but delivery mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device employs a nested compartment structure where smaller storage compartments are positioned within a larger device housing. Each nested compartment can contain different drug components or formulations. This nesting arrangement allows for separate storage of multiple components while maintaining a compact and relatively simple overall device structure, reducing the complexity increase that would otherwise result from separate storage mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device achieves precise and reproducible aerosol delivery, enabling efficient targeting of medications to specific areas within the nasal cavity and enhanced absorption, addressing the limitations of existing technologies by providing adjustable dosing and improved stability and absorption of compounds.
Implementation Method 1
maintaining, over a wide range of dose sizes, reproducible aerosol characteristics in terms of dose released, residual volume, droplet diameter, droplet size distribution and plume geometry
Implementation Method 2
a combination of parameters such as pressure, gas volume, and orifice diameter to optimize aerosol characteristics
Data Source
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AI summary
A device for delivering a predetermined volume of a substance, within at least one body cavity of a subject, comprising: (a) a predetermined volume for containing said predetermined volume of said at least one substance; (b) a delivery end for placement in proximity to said body cavity; said delivery end comprises at least one orifice of diameter D [mm]; (c) a valve mechanically connectable to said container, characterized by at least two configurations: (i) an active configuration in which said valve enables delivery of predetermined amount Vsub of said substance; and, (ii) an inactive configuration, in which said valve prevents delivery of said predetermined amount Vsub of said substance from said container to said body cavity; (d) a fluid tight chamber configured to contain predetermined amount Vgas of pressurized gas at a predetermined pressure, Pgas [barg].