Medication cassette for an automatic aerosol medication delivery
First Claim
1. A system for treating a patient with aerosolized medication. comprising:
- a hand-held device for delivering aerosolized medication comprising a body member with a receiving chamber;
a cassette, insertable into the receiving chamber of the hand-held device, the cassette comprising;
a canister having a body containing an aerosol medication and a valve stem movable in a longitudinal first axis relative to the canister body to release an amount of aerosol from the valve of the canister;
a mouthpiece having a first opening from which a patient can receive aerosolized medication, a second opening from which aerosolized medication released from the valve of the canister is received, a mouthpiece air flow path between the first and second openings, and a valve stem receptacle for receiving and securely seating the valve stem, the valve stem receptacle being located at the second opening;
a cassette housing having a cavity for receiving the canister, the cassette housing having a first opening connected to the second opening of the mouth piece, the cassette housing having a second opening, and a cassette housing air flow path between the first and second openings of the cassette housing, the cassette housing enclosing at least a portion of-the canister and having an outer configuration specifically designed for insertion into the receiving chamber of the hand-held device;
wherein the canister can reciprocate in the first axis relative to the cassette housing to release a dose of medication, and the mouthpiece air flow path and cassette housing flow paths are in open communication;
further wherein the cassette housing has an outer configuration which comprises a protrusion for use in aligning the cassette for insertion into the receiving chamber of the device and for retaining the cassette in the receiving chamber of the device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable, battery powered, hand-held system for releasing a controlled dose of aerosol medication for inhalation by a patient including a durable body and a medication cassette inserted in the durable body. The cassette includes a housing for containing a canister of medication, bears an identification code, and permits the canister to be manually depressed to release a dose, e.g., a metered dose, when out of the durable body. The durable body includes an actuator mechanism for engaging an inserted cassette and its canister, and an actuator release mechanism for controlling the actuator mechanism to depress the canister for a selected period of time to release the desired dose of medication and then the release the canister. The actuator mechanism, includes a compression spring for depressing the canister and a torsion spring for reloading the compression spring. The torsion spring is reloaded by rotating the cassette from an open position for delivering aerosol to a closed position. The actuator release mechanism includes a motor and trigger pin assembly that controls the release of the compression spring and the torsion spring, and, hence, the time that the canister is depressed. The motor operates in response to sensed flow satisfying a selected delivery threshold. The durable body includes a flow sensor having an asymmetrical orifice that is calibrated, independent of the cassette, to convert the sensed pressure due to flow into a flow rate. The orifice is separately calibrated for an inhalation flow rate range and an exhalation flow rate range over a selected number of known flow rates. The sensed pressure value is corrected for transducer offset drift and converted to a flow rate using the calibration data and piecewise linear interpolation.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for treating a patient with aerosolized medication. comprising:
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a hand-held device for delivering aerosolized medication comprising a body member with a receiving chamber; a cassette, insertable into the receiving chamber of the hand-held device, the cassette comprising; a canister having a body containing an aerosol medication and a valve stem movable in a longitudinal first axis relative to the canister body to release an amount of aerosol from the valve of the canister; a mouthpiece having a first opening from which a patient can receive aerosolized medication, a second opening from which aerosolized medication released from the valve of the canister is received, a mouthpiece air flow path between the first and second openings, and a valve stem receptacle for receiving and securely seating the valve stem, the valve stem receptacle being located at the second opening; a cassette housing having a cavity for receiving the canister, the cassette housing having a first opening connected to the second opening of the mouth piece, the cassette housing having a second opening, and a cassette housing air flow path between the first and second openings of the cassette housing, the cassette housing enclosing at least a portion of-the canister and having an outer configuration specifically designed for insertion into the receiving chamber of the hand-held device; wherein the canister can reciprocate in the first axis relative to the cassette housing to release a dose of medication, and the mouthpiece air flow path and cassette housing flow paths are in open communication; further wherein the cassette housing has an outer configuration which comprises a protrusion for use in aligning the cassette for insertion into the receiving chamber of the device and for retaining the cassette in the receiving chamber of the device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification