Design of alternative inhaler system to improve the delivery of inhaled pharmaceutical aerosol (IPA)

Abstract

The metered-dose inhaler (MDI) is used to prevent and relieve the symptoms and progression of certain diseases (asthma, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis) by delivering the inhaled pharmaceutical aerosols (IPA) to the desired area. To increase the delivery of IPA, the MDI spacer had been designed. By using spacer, deposition of most IPA on the mouth throat area can be avoided whereby it promotes the expansion and mixing of the IPA before it is inhaled. However, the IPA inhaling efficiency using MDI is relatively low compare to other methods. An objective of this project is to study a new design of alternative inhaler system that will increase the performance of IPA delivery in term of fluid dynamics characteristics.