Patent ID: 8875697

Claim:
A drug delivery apparatus for delivering an aerosol including a drug to a patient while reducing deposition of the aerosol on the apparatus, comprising: a mouthpiece portion including: a chamber having an air inlet, an internal conduit for delivering the aerosol to the patient, the internal conduit having a conduit inlet and a mouthpiece opposite the conduit inlet, wherein the mouthpiece is structured to be received in the mouth of the patient, the mouthpiece portion being further structured such that the patient inhales breathable gas via the air inlet of the chamber into the conduit inlet of the internal conduit and through the mouthpiece of the internal conduit, and a flow accelerator disposed within the internal conduit near the conduit inlet, wherein the flow accelerator is a removable insert inserted within the internal conduit, the insert having an orifice; and an aerosol generator configured to generate the aerosol from a supply of the drug and further configured and arranged to inject the aerosol into the conduit inlet of the internal conduit of the mouthpiece portion, wherein said flow accelerator is structured to increase velocity of a combined flow of substantially all the breathable gas from the air inlet and substantially all the aerosol from the aerosol generator within the internal conduit.