Flexible Membrane Inhaler Cartridge for Accurate Powder Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inhaler devices face challenges with active agents and carriers agglomerating, requiring de-agglomeration and accurate metering, leading to bulky and inconvenient designs.
Innovation Solution
An inhaler device with two flexible substrates and a membrane between them, where one portion of the membrane retains the active agent and another portion allows its release during use, ensuring easy loading and reliable delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If the inhaler device is designed to be reusable with multiple doses, then the device can provide a reliable delivery system for multiple uses, but the device becomes increasingly bulky and less convenient to carry
Solution Approach 1:
The inhaler device is divided into separate components: a reusable inhaler body and replaceable cartridges containing the active agent. This segmentation allows the device to be used multiple times through cartridge replacement, maintaining portability since only the compact inhaler body needs to be carried, while the consumable cartridges can be stored separately or replaced as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a single-use cartridge system where the active agent is contained in a disposable cartridge that is replaced after use. This allows the main inhaler device to be recovered and reused indefinitely, while the consumable portion is discarded after a single use, resolving the contradiction between device reusability and portability.
2Reliability
If deagglomerating dispersion chambers are added to ensure active agent is suitably de-agglomerated, then the active agent can be properly delivered, but the device becomes increasingly complicated and bulky
Solution Approach 1:
The deagglomeration function is extracted from the main inhaler body and integrated into the cartridge design. The cartridge itself is designed to facilitate deagglomeration through its structure and the method of active agent loading, separating this function from the reusable inhaler mechanism and simplifying the overall device design.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge is designed to perform deagglomeration automatically during the normal inhalation process. The airflow generated by user inhalation, combined with the specific cartridge structure and active agent formulation, enables self-deagglomeration without requiring additional mechanical components or complex mechanisms in the inhaler device.
3Measurement precision
If features are added to accurately meter the active agent for each dose, then each dose can be the same, but the device becomes increasingly bulky and less convenient
Solution Approach 1:
The cartridge is designed with specific physical parameters (aperture size, membrane porosity, active agent particle size distribution, carrier properties) that inherently control the dosing accuracy. By optimizing these parameters, the device achieves reliable metering without requiring complex mechanical metering mechanisms, pumps, or electronic controls, thereby maintaining device compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
Complex mechanical metering systems are replaced with a formulation-based approach where the active agent is loaded onto the cartridge in a controlled manner during manufacturing. The dosing is achieved through the interaction of airflow with the active agent-carrier mixture on the cartridge, eliminating the need for bulky mechanical dose-counting or metering 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 provides a compact, easy-to-use system for delivering active agents to the lungs, maintaining agent retention during manufacturing and preventing loss during use.
Implementation Method 1
the first portion being configured to releasably retain the active agent
Implementation Method 2
each of the two flexible substrates comprising at least one deformable element, the two flexible substrates being configured to move between a first configuration where the two flexible substrates are substantially flat and in contact with one another, and a second configuration where the two flexible substrates are flexed such that a channel is formed between the two flexible substrates
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A device for inhaling an active agent is provided that can be moved from a first configuration to a second configuration. The device comprises two flexible substrates and a membrane located between the two flexible substrates, and the two flexible substrates being connected at two opposing edges and unconnected at two further opposing edges. An active agent provided on the membrane may be inhaled by a user when the device is in the second configuration. The membrane comprises a first portion and a second portion, where the second portion prevents passage of active agent through the membrane. A method of using the device is also provided.