Segmented Metered Dose Inhaler for Accurate Dosage Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hand-held metered dose inhalers (MDIs) lack effective mechanisms to accurately measure and correlate the number of pressurized drug releases with inhalation data, especially when the power supply is depleted, leading to incorrect drug administration and potential misuse.
Innovation Solution
A mechanically activated visual cue system that counts doses remaining or expelled, combined with a removable data processing system capable of verifying administered and inhaled doses, correlating physical dose releases with administration data stored in the system, allowing for separate recharging or replacement of the data processing system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensors and circuitry are integrated directly into the hollow body, then observance control and feedback are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into two independent parts: a simple hollow body for drug delivery and a separate removable data processing system for observance control. This segmentation allows the hollow body to remain mechanically simple while the data processing functions are isolated in a separate module that can be added or removed as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
A removable data processing system acts as an intermediary between the hollow body and the user/external systems. This intermediary handles all complex sensing, data processing, and feedback functions, allowing the hollow body itself to remain simple while still achieving reliable observance control through the intermediate data processing layer.
2Ease of repair
If a removable data processing system is used, then ease of repair and recharging are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The data processing system is segmented as a separate removable module from the hollow body. This allows the data processing components to be independently accessed, replaced, or recharged without affecting the hollow body or drug delivery function, significantly improving ease of repair and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The removable data processing system can be discarded when depleted or malfunctioning and replaced with a fresh unit. This approach simplifies repair by allowing direct replacement rather than complex troubleshooting and component-level repair, while the hollow body is recovered and can continue to be used with a new data processing module.
3Measurement precision
If mechanical activation means are added to correlate dose releases, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and bulkiness increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical activation means utilizes the existing user action of pressing the cartridge automatically to trigger the dose count correlation mechanism. The system serves itself by converting the necessary user interaction (pressing the cartridge to release a dose) into a measurement signal without requiring additional separate activation actions or complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical activation means combines the dose release function and the dose counting function into a single integrated mechanism. The same mechanical action that releases the drug dose also triggers the correlation system to record the dose, merging two functions into one to minimize additional complexity.
4Loss of information
If the data processing system is integrated into the hollow body, then data correlation is improved, but loss of substance occurs when power is depleted
Solution Approach 1:
The data processing system is extracted from the hollow body and placed in a separate removable unit. This extraction protects the drug supply in the hollow body from being affected by power depletion in the data processing system. When power is depleted, only the data processing unit is affected, while the drug and its mechanical delivery system remain intact and can be used with a replaced data processing module.
Solution Approach 2:
The removable data processing system design provides a cushion against data loss by allowing replacement of the data processing unit without affecting the drug supply. If power depletion or malfunction occurs, the user can replace the data processing module with a fresh one, and the drug supply and mechanical activation system remain protected and ready for use, preventing loss of the valuable drug substance.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a metered dose inhaler (MDI) device comprising a mechanically activated visual cue (70, 72, 81) representing a number of doses expelled from, or doses remaining in, a drug-containing cartridge or canister (3) locatable within a body of said MDI, wherein the visual cue is visible through at least a portion of the body of said MDI, and a removable data processing system (18) configured to verify the dose of drug administered and/ or inhaled, wherein the MDI device further comprises a correlation system (19) configured to correlate physically released doses from the drug containing cartridge or canister with the administration and/ or inhalation data stored in the removable data processing system.