Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6698425?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2015-05-24 15:31:52
Document Index: 269641178

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 1']

Patent US6698425 - Powder inhaler - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA dry powder inhaler for use with a blister pack is disclosed. The inhaler has a dosing mechanism that releases powder from a variable number of blisters in the blister pack into an inhalation channel, such that the actual dose administered by the inhaler can be varied with each use of the inhaler....http://www.google.com/patents/US6698425?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6698425 - Powder inhalerAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6698425 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/051,518Publication dateMar 2, 2004Filing dateApr 10, 1998Priority dateFeb 7, 1997Fee statusPaidAlso published asEP0973569A1, WO1998034664A1Publication number051518, 09051518, US 6698425 B1, US 6698425B1, US-B1-6698425, US6698425 B1, US6698425B1InventorsCarin Widerstr�mOriginal AssigneeAstrazeneca AbExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (25), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (37), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetPowder inhaler
US 6698425 B1Abstract
What is claimed is: 1. A dry powder inhaler for use with a blister pack having a plurality of blisters, the blisters containing predetermined quantities of powder, the inhaler comprising:
an inhalation path, walls defining a chamber, the chamber being sized and shaped to receive a portion of the blister pack while another portion of said blister pack is outside of said chamber, and the chamber being in communication with the inhalation path;
an advancement mechanism that advances the blister pack through the chamber so as to place said another portion of said blister pack within the chamber and a portion of said blister pack that had been in said chamber outside of said chamber; and a dosing mechanism that provides a variable dose of powder from the blister pack to the inhalation chamber, the dosing mechanism including an opener configured to simultaneously open blisters disposed within the chamber, such that, for each use of the inhaler, the variable dose of powder administered is determined by the number of previously unopened blisters opened by the opener; wherein the dosing mechanism further comprises a controller that allows a user to select a desired number of blisters to be opened by the opener, further comprising; a stop member that restricts advancement of the blister pack to an extent corresponding to a number of blisters opened during a previous use of the inhaler. 2. The inhaler of claim 1, wherein the stop member is selected from the group consisting of a movable stop, a slider, and a ratchet mechanism.
Medicaments suitable for use with the present invention are any which may be delivered by inhalation. Suitable inhalable medicaments may include for example β2-adrenoreceptor agonists for example salbutamol, terbutaline, rimiterol, fenoterol, reproterol, adrenaline, dpirbuterol, isoprenaline, orciprenaline, bitolterol, salmeterol, formoterol, clenbuterol, procaterol, broxaterol, picumeterol, TA-2005, mabuterol and the like, and their pharmacologically acceptable esters and salts; anticholinergic bronchodilators for example ipratropium bromide and the like; glucocorticosteroids for example beclomethasone, fluticasone, budesonide, tipredane, dexamethasone, betamethasone, fluocinolone, triamcinolone acetonide, mometasone, and the like, and their pharmacologically acceptable esters and salts; anti-allergic medicaments for example sodium cromoglycate and nedocromil sodium; expectorants; mucolytics; antihistamines; cyclooxygenase inhibitors; leukotriene synthesis inhibitors; leukotriene antagonists, phospholipase-A2 (PLA2) inhibitors, platelet aggregating factor (PAF) antagonists and prophylactics of asthma; antiarrhythmic medicaments, tranquilisers, cardiac glycosides, hormones, antihypertensive medicaments, antidiabetic-, such as insulin, antiparasitic- and anticancer-medicarnents, sedatives and analgesic medicaments, antibiotics, antirheumatic medicaments, immunotherapies, antifungal and antihypotension medicaments, vaccines, antiviral medicaments, proteins, polypeptides and peptides for example peptide hormones and growth factors, polypeptides vaccines, enzymes, endorphines, lipoproteins and polypeptides involved in the blood coagulation cascade, vitamins and others, for example cell surface receptor blockers, antioxidants, free radical scavengers and organic salts of N,N′-diacetylcystine.
The inhaler 1 has a first part 1 a which functions to open the blisters and a second part 1 b which guides air and the powder released from the blisters out of a mouthpiece of the inhaler.
Part 1 a of the inhaler 1 is provided with a plurality of cutting means 7 and associated air inlets 8. The cutting means 7 may comprise any suitable means for rupturing the sealing layer 5 of the blister pack 2 and, in some embodiments such as those of FIG. 2, for rupturing the lower cavity 4 wall also. In particular, curved or straight blades or pin like members may be used.
In use, with the blister pack 2 inserted in the inhaler 1, the part 1 a of the inhaler 1 is moved towards the blister pack such that each of the cutting means 7 ruptures a corresponding blister 4. As illustrated in FIGS. 2(a), (b) and (c), the cutting means perforate not only the sealing layer 5, but also the continuous layer 3 where it forms the cavities 4. In this way, powder contained in the blisters 4 is released into part 1 b of the inhaler 1 below or, at least, is sucked through into part 1 b during inhalation by the user.
Part 1 b of the inhaler 1 has a series of channels 9 corresponding to the cutting means 7 and air inlets 8 of part 1 a. The channels 9 extend to a common inhalation channel 10. Thus, after part 1 a of the inhaler 1 has been moved so as to rupture the blisters 4, a user may inhale through the inhaler 1 such that air is drawn through the air inlets 8, picks up powder from the ruptured blisters 4 and passes out of the inhaler via the channels 9 and common inhalation channel 10.
As will be seen by reference to FIG. 2(b), if the blister pack 2 is only partly advanced under the cutting means 7 of part 1 a of the inhaler 1, when the inhaler 1 is operated, some of the cutting means 7 operate on blisters 4 which have already been ruptured and emptied. In this way, the quantity of powder administered in a single use of the inhaler can be varied.
In the second embodiment, rather than the first part la of the inhaler 1 operating as a single unit, it is possible for each of the cutting means 7 (possibly together with their corresponding air inlets 8) to be operated independently. In this way, even when the blister pack 2 is advanced entirely under part 1 a of the inhaler 1 as illustrated in FIG. 2(a), it is still possible to rupture only some of the blisters 4 which are positioned adjacent the cutting means 7.
The devices described so far have only been described with reference to a blister pack 2 which is manually inserted/advanced. However, preferably, when the blister pack 2 is provided as a roll 6 such as illustrated in FIGS. 1(a) and (b), it is installed into the inhaler as a roll and automatically unwound and advanced through the inhaler. The used length of the blister pack 2 can then either exit the inhaler or be wound inside another portion of the inhaler. In the case of first embodiments such as described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6, the blister pack 2 should be advanced under the cutting means so as to provide only as many unopened blisters 4 under the cutting means 7 as required. According to this embodiment, the blister pack 2 may be advanced immediately after the inhaler is used or immediately before its next use. It is advantageous for the blister pack 2 to be advanced immediately before each use, because the number of used blisters which are advanced out of the inhaler corresponds to and gives a visual indication of how many blisters are about to be used. Indeed, if the user leaves those used blisters in place, upon using the inhaler again, there is an indication of how many blisters were used previously. This is particularly advantageous when the user has to take different doses alternately. For instance, to obtain an average dose corresponding to 3� blisters, a user can alternately use 3 and 4 blisters.
50 μg-1600 μg
125 μg-12 μg
3 μg-48 μg
50 μg-6-700 μg
50 μg-200 μg
50 mg-1000 mg
In general, it is proposed that each blister should contain one of 10-75%, 20-50%, �, ⅓ and � of the clinical effective dose. It is particularly advantageous to provide fractions of the clinical effective dose, since this makes it easier for a patient to determine how many blisters to dispense.
For instance, for insulin, the required dose might vary between 0.1 mg (1 unit) and 2.0 mg (20 units). Preferably, therefore blisters can be provided containing a suitable quantity of insulin to cover this range or at least a more normal range within it. In this regard, it is proposed to use blisters containing one of 0.05-0.15 mg, 0.15-0.25 mg, 0.25-0.35 mg and 0.35-0.45 mg (�-1� units, 1�-2� units, 2�-3� units, 3�-4� units). In particular, blisters containing 2 units each would allow a range of 2 to 8 units with only 4 blisters per use.
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*Sep 26, 2006Apr 3, 2008Glaxo Group LtdDrug carrier in blister pack formWO2010135340A2 *May 18, 2010Nov 25, 20103M Innovative Properties CompanyDry powder inhalers* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification128/203.25, 128/203.15, 128/203.21International ClassificationA61M15/00Cooperative ClassificationA61M15/0045, A61M15/0036, A61M15/0048, A61M2202/064, A61M15/0051European ClassificationA61M15/00C2Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionAug 24, 2011FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Aug 20, 2007FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Apr 10, 1998ASAssignmentOwner name: ASTRA AKTIEBOLAG, SWEDENFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:WIDERSTROM, CARIN;REEL/FRAME:009691/0009Effective date: 19980303RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services