Patent ID: 7360536

Claim:
A nebulizer comprising: a medicine vial assembly having a tab, wherein the medical vial assembly contains a medicine fluid; a reservoir assembly having a detent, wherein the reservoir assembly engages the medicine vial assembly in fluid communication therewith and the detent and the tab interlock to hold together the medical vial assembly and the reservoir assembly; an aerosol generator mounted in fluid communication with the reservoir assembly; and a titration mechanism comprising: a plunger situated to act upon the medicine vial assembly, a screw assembly mechanically engaged with the plunger, a dose selection mechanism mechanically engaged with the screw assembly to permit a user to select an amount of medical fluid to be moved from the medical vial assembly into the reservoir assembly, and an actuator button moveably mounted to act upon the screw assembly to cause linear movement of the plunger; wherein operation of the dose selection mechanism selectively sets the linear distance the plunger will be caused to move when the actuator button is pressed, wherein movement of the plunger causes the plunger to act upon the vial assembly in such a manner so as to displace fluid from the vial assembly into the reservoir assembly, and wherein the fluid in the reservoir assembly can be ejected from the reservoir as a mist by operation of the aerosol generator.