Surgery – Respiratory method or device – Means for mixing treating agent with respiratory gas
Patent
1998-11-12
2000-06-20
Lewis, Aaron J.
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
Means for mixing treating agent with respiratory gas
12820312, A61M 1500
Patent
active
060765224
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for applying powdered medicament to a carrier, with the carrier being adapted for dosing of the medicament to a patient. More particularly, the present invention relates to a metering apparatus for dispensing a suspension of a suspending agent and one or more doses of dry powdered medicament onto a carrier (for instance, a carrier screen adapted to be positioned within a dry powder inhalator for dosing of the medicament to a patient), after which the suspending agent evaporates thereby leaving dry powder particles on the carrier.
RELATED ART
Two respiratory disease treatments involving inhalation of an appropriate medicament into the lungs to ease patient breathing and increase air capacity are widely used. One is inhalation of a medicament from a drug solution or suspension in an aerosol container (i.e., a pressurized container) using a gas propellant, such as a chlorofluorocarbon. The other is inhalation of a dry powdered medicament (generally admixed with an excipient for instance, to enable dispensing microgram quantities of medicament) from a dry powder inhalator.
Not only do various dry powder inhalator devices exist for dosing of fine particulate powdered medicaments to the respiratory tract of a patient, but also several apparatus exist for loading the powder into the device. The dose employed with such dry powder inhalators is usually about 50 to about 500 .mu.g of medicament and about 500 to about 25,000 .mu.g of excipient. The powdered particles contained in the inhalator usually are micronized, typically having a particle size of <10 .mu.m, more preferably <6 .mu.m, even more preferably <5 .mu.m, which is an appropriate size so that the particles can be drawn into the lungs. These inhalators employ capsules, blisters, velvet fibers, screens, and the like, loaded with powdered medicament as further explained below.
For instance, one such dry powder inhalator device is disclosed in PCT Published Application No. WO 92/00115, published Jan. 9, 1992, to Gupte et al., which shows a velour-fiber or velvet-fiber carrier material loaded with medicament powder between the fibers. During use, an air stream lifts powder from the carrier to entrain the powder within the air stream which is then inhaled by the patient. The powder may be loaded between the fibers from droplets of a suspension of the powder and a suspending agent (such as dichloromethane) and located on the carrier material such that when dispensed from a metering device, each droplet is at the requisite distance from the next droplet.
The metering device disclosed in PCT Published Application No. WO 92/00115 includes a first storage container for the suspension, from which it flows through a first pipe to a magnetic valve containing a piston and then laterally past the valve surfaces and piston through a second pipe and into a second storage container. The valve is associated with a third pipe from which the suspension is applied to the carrier by employing an electromagnet to withdraw the piston and free the opening to the third pipe, thereby enabling the suspension to reach the carrier. Each of the first and second storage containers is fitted with an agitator to keep the medicament powder particles constantly in suspension.
Also of interest is another inhalator device that utilizes hard gelatin capsules each carrying a load of powdered medicament and possibly also various excipients. A capsule is inserted into an inhalator and perforated so that the patient can generate an air stream on the mouthpiece of the inhalator and inhale the powder. Dry powder inhalators using this capsule technology are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,516 to Bell and U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,421 to Taylor et al., which show, respectively, an agglomerator-pelletizer apparatus and a wet granulator apparatus for preparing pellets or granules of the asthma medicament, disodium cromoglycate, for loading inside of a capsule.
Another type of inhalator device contains a package inse
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Principles of Operation Brochure, FMI.
Dwivedi Sarvajna Kumar
Roberts, II William Leroy
Sacchetti Mark Joseph
Van Oort Michiel Mary
Glaxo Wellcome Inc.
Lewis Aaron J.
Mitchell Teena
Riek James P.
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