Apparatus and methods for the delivery of therapeutic liquids to the respiratory system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for nebulizing a liquid, the apparatus comprising:
- a non-planar member comprising a front surface, a rear surface, and a plurality of apertures extending therebetween, said apertures being tapered to narrow from the rear surface to the front surface;
a liquid supplier which delivers liquid to the rear surface such that substantially all of the delivered liquid adheres to the non-planar member by surface tension; and
a vibrator which vibrates the non-planar member to eject liquid droplets from the front surface of the member.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention provides methods and apparatus for the delivery of therapeutic liquids to the respiratory system of a patient. In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a vibratable non-planar member having tapered apertures which produce droplets wherein about 70% of more of the droplets by weight have a size in the range from about 1 μm to 6 μm. The apparatus may further optionally include a breath sensor which detects the inspiratory flow rate and transmits a signal to vibrate the non-planar member at a frequency corresponding to the inspiratory flow rate. Optionally, the non-planar member may be included in a disposable mouthpiece assembly that is separate from the oscillator assembly. In this manner, the mouthpiece assembly may be discarded after use, while the oscillator assembly may be reused.
275 Citations
47 Claims
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1. An apparatus for nebulizing a liquid, the apparatus comprising:
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a non-planar member comprising a front surface, a rear surface, and a plurality of apertures extending therebetween, said apertures being tapered to narrow from the rear surface to the front surface; a liquid supplier which delivers liquid to the rear surface such that substantially all of the delivered liquid adheres to the non-planar member by surface tension; and a vibrator which vibrates the non-planar member to eject liquid droplets from the front surface of the member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for nebulizing a liquid, the device comprising:
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a housing having a proximal end and a distal end; a vibratable non-planar member mounted within the housing, said non-planar member having a plurality of apertures for nebulizing the liquid upon vibration of the non-planar member; and a vibrator removably attached about the housing which vibrates the non-planar member. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus for nebulizing a liquid, the apparatus comprising:
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a housing having a distal end and a mouthpiece at a proximal end; an non-planar member mounted within the housing, said non-planar member having a plurality of apertures; a vibrator which vibrates the non-planar member to eject liquid from the apertures; an acoustic chamber within the housing which produces an audible signal during inhalation from the mouthpiece; and a controller for controlling the rate of non-planar member vibration upon detection of the audible signal. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for nebulizing a liquid, said method comprising:
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providing a non-planar member having a plurality of tapered apertures extending therethrough; and vibrating the non-planar member to produce liquid droplets where about 70% of more of the droplets by weight have a size in the range from about 1 μ
m to 6 μ
m. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for delivering a liquid medicament to the respiratory system of a patient, the method comprising:
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providing a housing having a proximal end and a distal end providing a non-planar member which is disposed within the housing, the non-planar member having a plurality of tapered apertures extending therethrough; supplying liquid to the non-planar member; inhaling from the proximal end of the housing; and vibrating the non-planar member in response to the inhalation to eject the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification