Drug delivery apparatus and method

摘要

A drug delivery apparatus includes a mouthpiece portion having an internal conduit for delivering an aerosol including the drug to the patient. The internal conduit has an inlet end and a mouthpiece end that is structured to be received in the patient's mouth. The mouthpiece portion is structured to operate at a substantially fixed inhalation flow rate when the patient inhales through the mouthpiece end. The apparatus further includes an aerosol generator for generating the aerosol from a drug supply and injecting the aerosol into a first region within the mouthpiece portion located between an outlet of the aerosol generator and the inlet end of the conduit. The mouthpiece portion also includes a flow accelerating mechanism that causes a localized flow rate at the first region to be greater than the inhalation flow rate. A method is also provided that increases the local flow rate within the mouthpiece portion.

主权项

1. A drug delivery apparatus for delivering an aerosol including a drug to a patient while reducing deposition of the aerosol on the apparatus, comprising:
a mouthpiece portion including:
a chamber having an air inlet,an internal conduit for delivering the aerosol to the patient, the internal conduit having a conduit inlet and a mouthpiece opposite the conduit inlet, wherein the mouthpiece is structured to be received in the mouth of the patient, the mouthpiece portion being further structured such that the patient inhales breathable gas via the air inlet of the chamber into the conduit inlet of the internal conduit and through the mouthpiece of the internal conduit, anda flow accelerator disposed within the internal conduit near the conduit inlet, wherein the flow accelerator is a removable insert inserted within the internal conduit, the insert having an orifice; and an aerosol generator configured to generate the aerosol from a supply of the drug and further configured and arranged to inject the aerosol into the conduit inlet of the internal conduit of the mouthpiece portion, wherein said flow accelerator is structured to increase velocity of a combined flow of substantially all the breathable gas from the air inlet and substantially all the aerosol from the aerosol generator within the internal conduit.