Patent ID: 7527021

Claim:
A system allowing for animal self administration of pharmaceutical formulations, said system comprising an animal cage, a sensing chamber, wherein the chamber comprises a plurality of side walls and an end plate, said side walls each provided with an anterior edge, a posterior edge and two lateral edges, wherein the lateral edges of each side wall are bonded to the lateral edges of an adjacent side wall to define a chamber interior space, the posterior edges are each bonded to the same planar surface of said end plate, and the anterior edge of the side walls defines an anterior opening to said chamber interior space; said sensing chamber further provided with a sensor that produces a signal when an object is present in the chamber interior space of the sensing chamber; an aerosol dispersing apparatus comprising a barrel provided with a front and back end wall and a barrel wall that defines an interior barrel space; a nozzle head fastened to the front end wall of said barrel and in communication with the interior barrel space and the exterior of the barrel; a source of pressurized air that is in communication with said nozzle head, wherein communication between the pressurized air source and the nozzle head is regulated by an air valve; a fluid reservoir that is in fluid communication with said interior barrel space, wherein fluid communication between the fluid reservoir and the interior barrel space is regulated by a reservoir valve; a port formed in said end plate and provided with sufficient dimensions to allow unimpeded fluid flow from the nozzle head into the chamber interior space of said sensing chamber; and electronic communication means for transmitting a signal from the sensor to an actuating circuit that detects the signal and actuates driver elements that open the air valve and the reservoir valve.