Steam-Mediated Powder Inhaler for Lung Drug Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional powder inhalers fail to ensure that a sufficient amount of particulate drug reaches the lungs of asthmatic or coronavirus-infected patients, often causing drug loss within the device and excessive inhalation.
Innovation Solution
A drug vaporization and inhalation device that mixes particulate drugs with vaporized steam using a vaporization container, inducing material, fine particle vaporizer, and a cap with blades to ensure the drug reaches the lungs without loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional powder inhalers spray out powdered drug, then the device structure is simple, but the drug cannot sufficiently arrive at patient's lungs causing drug loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the drug delivery system from solid powder to vapor phase by heating the inhalation powder in a vaporization chamber. The heated powder transforms into vapor state, which then mixes with air and is delivered through the inhalation tube. This phase transition enables the drug to reach the lungs more effectively while preventing deposition in the device interior.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces vaporized air as an intermediary carrier that transports the drug particles to the lungs. The vaporization chamber generates hot vapor that mixes with ambient air, creating a carrier stream that carries the drug particles. This intermediary mechanism ensures complete drug delivery without loss in the device interior.
2Ease of operation
If the excipient particle sizes are made finer, then the inhalation powder flow characteristics improve, but the low characteristics of the excipient worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the inhalation powder from solid particles to vapor phase through heating. This parameter change allows the use of finer excipient particle sizes that would normally have poor flow characteristics, as the vaporization process transforms them into a state that flows smoothly through the inhalation tube and reaches the lungs effectively.
3Quantity of substance
If a large quantity of excipient is used in inhalation powder, then the drug can be diluted to achieve therapeutic effects, but the particle sizes of excipient greatly influence the characteristics of inhalation powder
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses phase transition to overcome the limitations of excipient particle sizes. By heating the inhalation powder containing large quantities of excipient to vaporization temperatures, the system transforms the mixture into vapor state. This allows the use of higher excipient quantities for drug dilution while the vaporization process ensures the mixture maintains appropriate flow and delivery characteristics to the lungs.
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 effectively delivers the particulate drug to the lungs by mixing it with vaporized steam, preventing drug loss and excessive inhalation, and ensuring the drug reaches the lungs effectively, thereby addressing the technical problem.
Implementation Method 1
a fine particle vaporizer (30) heated when power is supplied thereto to vaporize the vaporization promoting composition induced by the inducing material
Implementation Method 2
an inducing material (20) disposed under the vaporization container (10) to be inserted into the first storage space (11) to induce the vaporization promoting composition stored in the first storage space (11) to be discharged by means of a capillary action
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a drug vaporization and inhalation device. The present invention is configured such that when an infected patient with asthma, a coronavirus, or the like inhales a particulate drug, the drug is contained in vaporized steam, and therefore, the drug can sufficiently arrive at the lungs of the infected patient with asthma, a coronavirus, or the like, without loss, thereby preventing a given amount of the drug from remaining in an inhalation container and improving the drug inhalation efficiency of the infected patient with asthma, a coronavirus, or the like along with prevention of excessive inhalation of the drug.