Capsule Dry Powder Inhaler Piercing for Stable High-Dose Dispersion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dry powder inhalers are limited by the dosage of powder they can disperse, often obstructed by cut-out portions of the capsule shell bending inward during piercing, and suffer from high inhalation resistance variations due to user pulmonary capacity, necessitating a cost-effective solution for easy handling of large dosages without high resistance.
Innovation Solution
A dry powder inhaler design featuring a base body with a capsule receptacle, actuator buttons, and perforation needles arranged at an inclined angle, with extra-centric tips to create larger, triangular-shaped openings, reducing obstruction and enhancing powder dispersion, and incorporating an intermediate air chamber to stabilize airflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the capsule is pierced directly in its hemispherical ends, then the piercing process is simple, but the amount of powder to be dispersed is limited due to obstruction by cut-out portions bending inwards
Solution Approach 1:
The needle tip is designed with an extracentric position relative to the needle axis, creating an asymmetric piercing action. This asymmetric piercing pattern produces a triangular-shaped opening with cut-out portions that do not bend inwards to obstruct powder flow, thereby increasing the amount of powder that can be dispersed while eliminating the harmful obstruction effect
Solution Approach 2:
The needle piercing parameters are changed by positioning the needle tip extracentrically and orienting it at a specific angle (83°-88°) relative to the capsule surface. This parameter change transforms the piercing outcome from a simple hole to a triangular-shaped opening with non-obstructing cut-out portions, enabling larger powder quantities to be dispersed
2Quantity of substance
If known inhalers are used, then the device structure is simple, but the maximum dosage of dry powder is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric extracentric needle tip design creates an optimized triangular opening that efficiently disperses large quantities of powder (25-200 mg). This design modification allows the device to handle high dosages required for treatments like cystic fibrosis and COPD without requiring complex additional mechanisms, maintaining device simplicity while dramatically increasing dosage capacity
3Ease of operation
If standard capsule piercing is used, then the piercing process is straightforward, but a wide variation in inhalation resistance occurs depending on user pulmonary capacity
Solution Approach 1:
By changing the needle piercing parameters (extracentric tip position and 83°-88° angle), the device creates a triangular-shaped opening that provides consistent airflow characteristics. This parameter modification ensures that inhalation resistance remains stable and predictable across different user pulmonary capacities (30-120 L/min), making the device adaptable to various users without requiring complex adjustment 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 design allows for precise and homogeneous drug delivery with reduced inhalation resistance, enabling dosages up to 200 mg and minimizing dose variation, ensuring efficient powder release and stable airflow.
Implementation Method 1
the capsule is lifted from the capsule receptacle into a capsule chamber and rotates in the capsule chamber. Upon rotation of the capsule, dry powder contained in the capsule is dispersed by centrifugal forces during rotation
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a dry powder inhaler (10) for a capsule (90) containing dry powder, the inhaler comprising a base body (14) having a capsule receptacle (56), two actuator buttons (24) arranged on opposing sides of the base body and two perforation needles (28), each needle being fixedly connected to a respective one of the actuator buttons and movable relative to guiding sections (70) of the base body towards each other from a normal position to a perforation position along an actuation direction (26) to perforate a capsule arranged in the capsule receptacle, wherein the capsule receptacle is arranged in an inclined angle (68) within the range of about 40° to about 50° with respect to the actuation direction, wherein an extracentric tip (202) of at least one of the piercing needle is facing a longitudinal axis (92) of the other piercing needle.