[54] INTELLIGENT INHALER PROVIDING FEEDBACK TO BOTH PATIENT AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
[75] Inventors: David J. Mishelevich, Cupertino; Ted W. Lanpher, Atherton; Gregory B. Lanpher, York; James Long, Sunnyvale, all of Calif.
[73] Assignee: Orcadian, Inc., San Jose, Calif.
[21] Appl. No.: 811,398
[22] Filed: Dec. 20,1991
[51] Int. C1.5 A61M 11/00
[52] U.S. CI 128/200.14; 128/200.23;
128/204.23; 128/205.23
[58] Field of Search 128/200.14, 200.23,
128/203.12, 204.21, 204.23, 725, 205.23
[56] References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
3,991,304 11/1976 Hillsman 128/725
4,942,544 7/1990 Mcintosh et al 364/413.02
4,984,158 1/1991 Hillsman 128/725
5,152,456 10/1992 Ross et al 128/200.16
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
"Deposition of Pressurized Aerosols In the Human Respiratory Tract" by Newman et al., Thorax, 1981,36, 52-55.
"How Should a Pressurized ^-Adrenergic Bronchodi
lator be Inhaled?" by Newman et al., Eur. J. Respir Dis (1981) 62, 3-21.
Primary Examiner—Edgar S. Burr
Assistant Examiner—Aaron J. Lewis
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich &
Rosati
[57] ABSTRACT
The present invention detects how much air is inhaled through the inhaler with what time course (including such derived measurements as how much volume is inspired within the bounds of a given flow range) as well as certain events such as the triggering of the release of aerosol. The system can be set up to compare the resultant time course to either (a) a standard target envelope (e.g., one or more of flow, volume, and time) for that patient programmed into the intelligent inhalation device by a healthcare professional. Based on the comparison, the success or failure of effective inhaler actuation and aerosol inspiration can be signaled to the patient (e.g., visually or through sound) and may be recorded with a time and date stamp for later decoding and evaluation of the invention, the device would also possess the ability to signal the patient to continue postinspiratory breath holding for use in interpreting the success of medication delivery.
33 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
