RU2359710C2 - Disposable singe dose inhaler for powder medicines - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medicine.

SUBSTANCE: invention concerns medica equipment. The single dose inhaler for powder medicines consists of the hollow tubular case which has the first part for reception of a capsule or a cartridge with the powder medicine, formed by a wall in which clefts as air inputs in an internal zone where the powder falls, and the second part bridged to the first part, for delivery of a medicine by means of a primary stream which transfers a powder from a zone of falling along the delivery channel which extremity is intended for placing in a mouth of the patient. The secondary channel is located under the channel of delivery and supplied by own air input for delivery of a secondary stream without a powder supporting and referring a primary stream so, that it can pass over tongue of the patient that prevents excessive subsidence of a medicine in a oropharyngeal cavity and provides big efficiency of treatment, thanks to larger quantity of a medicine which reaches lungs. Other advantages of an inhaler are the best unit of a medicine from an excipient at the expense of a secondary stream which strikes in a primary stream and refers it, and low cost because it can be made of plastic by means of moulding under pressure with monolithic structure and consequently it can be used as a disposable inhaler.

EFFECT: maintenance of the best unit of a medicine from an excipient, and low cost of the device.

23 cl, 6 dwg

Description

This invention relates to inhalers for powdered drugs and, in particular, to a disposable single dose inhaler.

It is known that medication in the form of powders to be inhaled is an effective and non-invasive method of providing the patient with the desired medication. For this purpose, many devices have been developed, usually in the form of reusable multi-dose inhalers, for administering drugs.

However, this type of inhaler has various disadvantages: a rather high cost; significant complexity, which complicates their use; the great difficulty of keeping them in a satisfactory hygienic condition over time; the risk of improper dispensing of the powder medication due to thickening or film formation caused by humidity or other factors; the fact that most drugs do not reach the patient’s lungs because they settle on the walls of the mouth and throat.

As an attempt to overcome these shortcomings, a monodose inhaler was disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,669,378, which has a much simpler and cheaper construction and therefore can be used as a disposable inhaler. Thus, there is no danger of poor hygiene and spoilage of drugs, as well as significant difficulties in use.

Indeed, this type of inhaler consists essentially of a tubular body with a first part for receiving a drug-containing capsule connected through a screen to a second part for dispensing a powder that the patient places in his mouth. To extract the powder from the capsule, a button with a tip is provided for piercing the capsule placed in a suitable support element, and a button supporting spring is located between the button and the capsule supporting element to prevent the capsule from puncturing prematurely.

Although this single-use single dose inhaler is a significant improvement over previous multi-dose inhalers, it is also not free from the disadvantages.

First of all, it does not solve the problem of drug deposition in the oropharyngeal cavity before reaching the lungs. As a result, if the patient does not receive the desired relief that he expects from the medicine, then he will administer another dose too soon with the danger of various unpleasant side effects caused by an overdose. In addition, a drug that has settled in the oropharyngeal cavity can cause some problems, such as pain, cough, dryness, etc.

Secondly, the assembly of these three elements (buttons, springs, capsule supports) in the housing is still required, which is associated with certain manufacturing costs, as well as the risk of failure in case of improper assembly.

Therefore, the objective of the invention is to provide a disposable single dose inhaler that does not have these drawbacks. This goal was achieved using a monolithic inhaler equipped with a lower channel in the issuing part and suitable for placement of a self-piercing cartridge.

The main advantage of this inhaler is provided by the presence of a secondary stream discharged from the lower channel, which supports and directs the primary stream that carries the powder medicine, so that the primary stream can pass over the patient’s tongue. Thus, excessive deposition of the drug in the oropharyngeal cavity is prevented and higher treatment efficiency is achieved due to the greater amount of drug that reaches the lungs.

The second advantage provided by the presence of the secondary stream is the better separation of the drug from the excipient (usually lactose) due to the secondary stream, which strikes the primary stream and directs it.

Another advantage of this inhaler is its low cost due to the fact that despite the presence of the lower channel, it can be made of plastic by injection molding with a monolithic structure. In addition, this inhaler is suitable for accommodating a self-puncturing cartridge similar to the cartridge disclosed in WO 03/011708 of one of the inventors, therefore, other elements for piercing the capsule in the inhaler according to the prior art can be discarded.

Other advantages and characteristics of the inhaler according to this invention follow for specialists in this field of technology from the following description of its embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, which depict:

Figure 1 - inhaler in isometric projection in front view;

Figure 2 - inhaler in a top view;

Figure 3 - inhaler in side view;

Figure 4 - inhaler in front view;

Figure 5 - isometric inhaler in rear view; and

6 is an isometric view of the inhaler in a rear view in section along the longitudinal middle axis.

As shown in the figures, the inhaler according to this invention usually consists of a hollow, essentially tubular body, which has a first part H for receiving a powder medicine cartridge and a second part M for dispensing medicine through the dispensing channel D, the end of which is designed to be placed in the patient’s mouth .

In the wall W, which forms the receiving part H, one or more vertical slots S are formed to allow air to enter the inner zone P, where the powder falls. In the shown embodiment, three slots S are provided, namely, a central slot extending over the entire height of the wall W in the middle plane in a distant position, and the other two shorter slots located symmetrically with respect to the central slot.

The connection between the drop zone P of the powder and the dispensing channel D is provided by a grid G having dimensions that prevent the passage of fragments of the capsule or cartridge that may fall after the powder is released.

The air entering through slots S forms a stream F, which transfers the powder from zone P through the mesh G along the dispensing channel D into the patient's mouth.

The main new aspect of this inhaler is that it is also intended to create a secondary, powder-free stream F 'which supports and directs the primary stream F upon inhalation.

For this purpose, a second wall W 'is provided in the receiving part H, which at least partially surrounds the wall W, for example, along its rear half in the shown embodiment and is located at a distance from it to obtain an intermediate space S' between the two walls.

This intermediate space S 'extends below the powder falling zone P and extends to the end of the dispensing channel D, thereby forming the lower channel D'. Therefore, in practice, the delivery zone M is obtained consisting of two channels D, D ', one on top of the other, separated by a horizontal partition B.

Therefore, it is clear that when a patient draws in air for inhalation of a powder located in zone P, into which he is preferably released from a self-piercing cartridge, as indicated above, part of the air passes through slots S and forms a powder-carrying primary stream F discharged through channel D, while the other part of the air passes through the intermediate space S 'and forms a secondary stream F' without powder, issued through the secondary channel D '.

As mentioned above, the secondary stream F 'supports the primary stream F and prevents the sedimentation of the powder due to gravity in the patient's tongue or on other walls of the oropharyngeal cavity. This supportive and guiding function is especially important when the patient holds the distal end of the inhaler with too much upward inclination.

This supporting effect, as well as another effect of separating the drug from the excipient, can be increased or decreased by changing the ratio between the cross sections of the channels D, D 'and / or between the cross sections of the air inlets S, S' or other elements. In other words, the two streams F, F 'can be controlled by the construction of different parts of the inhaler in order to obtain different embodiments with different characteristics of inhalation for various special applications.

For example, the air inlet S 'for the secondary stream F' can be formed directly at the rear end of the secondary channel D ', in this case the wall W' will pass only under the zone P of the fall of the powder. In addition, the dividing wall B can be U-shaped instead of flat, so that the "air cushion" formed by the secondary stream F 'partially surrounds the primary stream F also on the sides.

It is clear that the above and illustrated embodiment of the inhaler according to the invention is only an example that allows various modifications. In particular, although the parts H, M are shown connected at an angle of 90 °, it is clear that the monolithic body of the inhaler can also be made with any other angle between these parts from 0 ° to 90 °, for example 45 ° or 60 °. In addition, the number, shape and location of the air inlets into the powder drop zone P can be freely selected, and therefore they can completely differ from the above slots S.

Claims (23)

1. An inhaler for powder drugs, consisting of a hollow, essentially tubular body, which has a first part (H) for receiving a capsule or cartridge with a powder medicine, formed by a wall (W), in which one or more air inlets are formed in the inner zone (P) where the powder falls, and the second part (M) connected to the specified first part (H) to dispense the drug using the primary stream (F), which transfers the powder from the specified zone (P) of the fall along the channel (D) delivery, the end of which is intended to be placed in the mouth atsienta, characterized in that it further comprises a secondary conduit (D '), disposed below said channel (D) and provided with its own dispensing an air inlet (S') for the issuing of the secondary flow (F ') without powder. 2. The inhaler according to claim 1, characterized in that in the part (H) for receiving a second wall (W ') is provided, which covers at least partially the wall (W) and is located at a distance from it with the formation of an intermediate space ( S '), which extends beneath the powder drop zone (P) and acts as an air inlet for the secondary channel (D'). 3. The inhaler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the air inlets into the powder drop zone (P) are three slots (S), with the central slot preferably extending along the entire wall height (W) and the other two shorter slots are located symmetrically relative to the specified Central slit. 4. The inhaler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the delivery channel (D) is separated from the secondary channel (D ') by a U-shaped dividing wall (B). 5. The inhaler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that between the zone (P) of the fall of the powder and the channel (D) issuance is a grid (GV). 6. The inhaler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is made of plastic by injection molding with a monolithic structure. 7. The inhaler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is suitable for placement of a self-piercing cartridge. 8. The inhaler according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the two parts (H, M) are connected at an angle of 90 °. 9. The inhaler according to claim 3, characterized in that the delivery channel (D) is separated from the secondary channel (D ') by a U-shaped dividing wall (B). 10. The inhaler according to claim 3, characterized in that between the zone (P) of the fall of the powder and the channel (D) issuing is a grid (G). 11. The inhaler according to claim 4, characterized in that between the zone (P) of the falling powder and the channel (D) issuance is a grid (G). 12. The inhaler according to claim 3, characterized in that it is made of plastic by injection molding with a monolithic structure. 13. The inhaler according to claim 4, characterized in that it is made of plastic by injection molding with a monolithic structure. 14. The inhaler according to claim 5, characterized in that it is made of plastic by injection molding with a monolithic structure. 15. The inhaler according to claim 3, characterized in that it is suitable for placement of a self-piercing cartridge. 16. The inhaler according to claim 4, characterized in that it is suitable for placement of a self-piercing cartridge. 17. The inhaler according to claim 5, characterized in that it is suitable for placement of a self-piercing cartridge. 18. The inhaler according to claim 6, characterized in that it is suitable for placement of a self-piercing cartridge. 19. The inhaler according to claim 3, characterized in that the two parts (H, M) are connected at an angle of 90 °. 20. The inhaler according to claim 4, characterized in that the two parts (H, M) are connected at an angle of 90 °. 21. The inhaler according to claim 5, characterized in that the two parts (H, M) are connected at an angle of 90 °. 22. The inhaler according to claim 6, characterized in that the two parts (H, M) are connected at an angle of 90 °. 23. The inhaler according to claim 7, characterized in that the two parts (H, M) are connected at an angle of 90 °.

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