TWI564040B - Effective control of ultra-fine atomized particles output of medical micro-mesh atomizer - Google Patents

Description

Medical micro-mesh atomizer for effectively controlling the output of ultra-fine atomized particles

This creation relates to the field of medical applications for thoracic spray inhalation therapy.

In the medical application of thoracic inhalation therapy, a nebulizer is used to atomize a liquid medicament into a similar gas state (hereinafter referred to as "aerosol") containing a myriad of fine particles, and the aerosol particle size must be less than 5 μm to be absorbed by the lung bronchus. . Since the particle size of the aerosol output is evenly distributed, effective thoracic inhalation therapy requires that the aerosol output must be more than 50% of the particle molecules less than 5 μm; however, the currently known medical micromesh nebulizer is medically available. It is not possible to effectively screen out the qualified aerosol particles for output to the patient, that is, the qualified and unqualified drug mist will be output together, and the proportion of qualified particles is unknown, and the dosage of the medical order cannot be precisely controlled.

In addition, the conventional nebulizer for thoracic inhalation treatment, after spraying the drug solution, except for part of the aerosol is absorbed by the human body, other parts of the aerosol can only be scattered everywhere, not only wasting medical resources, but also causing environmental pollution and health. After the body absorbs the aerosol, it will remain in the body and cause adverse effects.

U.S. Patent No. 6,629,646 discloses a fluid ejection device that responds to electrical signals to produce ejected droplets, comprising an oscillator having one or more tapered apertures in the surface, each aperture having first and second openings, and The first opening is larger than the second opening; the first opening is for contacting the surface tension of the fluid to be sprayed; the fluid interacting with the tapered hole wall is formed to circulate between compression and decompression, so that the fluid is drawn from the large opening And spout from a small opening. The apparatus includes a fluid supply nozzle for delivering fluid to the large opening of the bore; a discharge valve controls the supply of fluid. An electron wave generator induces oscillation on the surface of the tapered hole. The device is used for atomization and injection of fluids.

U.S. Patent No. 6,863,224 discloses a liquid spray device having a stored drug The bottle can be supplied to the front end portion by a sonic vibrator; the front end portion is connected to a mesh member having a plurality of micropores and a sonic vibrator. The can portion includes a large-capacity portion, and is connected to the large-capacity portion via an opening and is formed with a small-capacity portion of the sonic vibrator. The small volume portion is formed such that the liquid is in close contact with the contact portion between the front end of the sonic vibrator and the mesh member. Therefore, the main appeal is that it is not necessary to separately provide a liquid supply device for the chemical liquid, so that reliability, durability, and maintenance can be improved under low-cost conditions.

German Patent No. 102009001867 discloses a medical fluid sprayer for use in a patient having a drive unit for providing vibrational energy; a polymer layer comprising a distribution on a driver base for receiving vibrational energy to generate fluid drip a plurality of openings; a tapered metal energy conductor is coupled to the polymer layer and includes an opening at a position corresponding to the opening of the polymer layer; a ring vibration coupled to the conductor and capable of generating vibrational energy Source (eg ultrasonic vibrator). The vibration is generated when the ring vibration source is actuated, and the chemical solution adhering to the polymer layer is oscillated to form gasified fine particles.

Looking at the prior art of the aforementioned prior patent or other related related intra-aortic inhalation therapeutic sprayers, whether the mesh material mesh member (or micro mesh) is fixed, the liquid is squeezed out of the mesh member by the ultrasonic component vibration. Aerosols are produced (e.g., U.S. Patent 6,686,224). Or the ultrasonic vibration component combined with the energy transmission metal ring (collectively called the spray module) is vibrated together with the alloy micro-mesh, and then the liquid is extruded out of the micro-mesh to generate an aerosol (such as US Patent 6,629,646). . Or the ultrasonic vibration component combined with the energy transmission metal ring (collectively, the spray module) is vibrated together with the plastic polymer micro mesh, and the liquid is extruded out of the micro mesh to generate an aerosol (eg, German 10 2009 001 867). The size of the aerosol particles generated by these forms of atomizers needs to be partially affected by the size of the microgrid aperture and the shape of the mesh, so that the size of the aerosol particles output by the spray module ranges from 0.5 μm to 50 μ. There is a random distribution between m. However, the therapeutic requirements for thoracic spray inhalation for medical use are that aerosol particles of less than 5 μm must account for more than 50% of the total aerosol output ratio; therefore, the aforementioned prior patents have the following treatments for medical thoracic spray inhalation; Disadvantages:

a. In order to obtain aerosol particles smaller than 5 μm, the mesh diameter of the micro-mesh must be less than or equal to 5 μm, but the production cost of such micro-mesh is extremely high, and the proportion of aerosol molecules outputting less than 5 μm does not necessarily match above 50.

b. Compared with aerosol particles less than 5μm, the aerosol particles can be inhaled by the patient. Other aerosol particles larger than 5μm cannot be absorbed by the patient in the lung bronchus, but the chemical is wasted. This phenomenon causes the amount of medication prescribed by the doctor's prescription to be doubled to offset the large particle aerosol output that is not absorbed, which is a waste of medical resources; or the patient's actual inhalation of the chest is not enough to treat the disease.

c. Aerosol particles larger than 5μm that cannot be absorbed by patients, some of which are dispersed in the air, and some are discarded after being turned into syrup, causing secondary environmental pollution of the drug contaminated air and water source.

One of the objects of the present invention is to solve the conventional nebulizer for the treatment of pleural inhalation, which is used to produce a mesh of micro mesh having a diameter of 5 μm or less, which must be achieved by extremely precise manufacturing techniques, so that the manufacturing cost is extremely high. High, directly raise the price of the sprayer.

Another object of the present invention is to solve the conventional nebulizer for the treatment of thoracic inhalation, which produces aerosol particles larger than 5 μm in diameter and which cannot be absorbed by patients, which is directly turned into a waste of medicine; the dose must be doubled to offset The large particle aerosol output that is not absorbed, or the amount of medication that the patient actually inhales into the chest is not sufficient to treat the disease.

A further object of the present invention is to solve the conventional sprayer used in the field of thoracic inhalation therapy, in which aerosol particles larger than 5 μm which cannot be absorbed by a patient are partially dispersed in the air, and some are discarded into a syrup and discarded. The problem of secondary environmental pollution caused by drugs contaminating air and water.

Based on the foregoing, the inventors of the present invention have focused on the field application of thoracic spray inhalation therapy, and provided an atomizer including a particle sorter, a drug liquid circulation reflux system and a spray module. The main feature is that a filter is arranged in front of the spray module of the medicine container. When the spray module sprays the liquid to form an atomizing gas, the sprayed atomizing gas hits the filter again to produce a finer The qualified atomized gas particles (about 5μm or less) make it easier for the patient to absorb the medicine, and achieve the effective output of the prescription of the doctor's medicine, thereby reducing the waste of the medicine.

In the liquid circulation recirculation system of the present invention, the atomizing gas sprayed out of the liquid medicine container is struck against the filter, and the re-formed liquid is accumulated on the outside of the micro-mesh of the spray module, and then reused. The siphon principle automatically transports the accumulated syrup back into the liquid container and re-sprays, and the spray can be repeated several times without interruption until the syrup in the liquid container is used up.

The main technical means of the present invention comprises a medicated container having a drug-filling space and a drug solution outlet, and a spray module disposed at the drug solution outlet and electrically connected to the power source, the drug solution passing through the drug solution When the outlet is in contact with the spray module in operation, the high-speed vibration generated by the spray module collides to form an atomizing gas of a plurality of tiny particles, and the atomized gas is sprayed in the spray module of the present invention. The direction is provided with a filter having a distance from the spray module and blocking the sprayed atomizing gas, so that the sprayed atomized gas hits the filter again to generate finer atomized gas particles.

The medical liquid circulation reflux system of the present invention comprises a collection container connected to the medicine container, the collection container has a lowest position, and the medicine container adjacent to the lowest position is provided with a first opening, and the a second opening is formed in the medicine container at a position higher than the first opening, and the first opening and the second opening are tightly connected to a conduit, so that the medicine outlet and the first opening are medicine The liquid is closed, and a siphon action is formed when the drug-filling space generates a negative pressure, thereby automatically sucking the liquid medicine concentrated at the lowest position into the drug-filling space.

In order to effectively collect and collect large diameter aerosol molecules separated by the filter, and to facilitate the user to align the nasal spray, the present invention provides an axially corresponding filter and a tilted aerosol in the collection container. The outlet tube is configured to guide the aerosolized liquid to be returned to the lowest position of the collection container by the inclined surface of the gas mist outlet tube.

According to the size of the particle diameter of the liquid medicine to be sprayed, the filter may be selected as a plate body, and the plate body may be a flat surface, a concave surface or a convex surface facing a surface of the spray module. The surface of the plane, concave or convex surface may be provided with a plurality of appropriately sized concave holes or embossments. The area of the filter may be larger or smaller than the area of the corresponding spray module. And in the process of manufacturing the atomizer, the distance between the filter and the spray module can be adjusted; for example, the distance between the surface of the plate body and the spray module is greater or smaller than the diameter of the plate body.

1‧‧‧Pharmaceutical container

10‧‧‧Pharmaceutical space

10A‧‧‧Lower space

101‧‧‧ bottom

11‧‧‧ injection port

12‧‧‧Drug outlet

13‧‧‧Drug reflux system

131‧‧‧Collection container

132‧‧‧Air mist export tube

133‧‧‧lowest position

134‧‧‧ first opening

135‧‧‧ second opening

136‧‧‧ catheter

2‧‧‧ spray module

21‧‧‧Micro-mesh

22‧‧‧Supersonic oscillator

3‧‧‧Filter

31‧‧‧ surface

32‧‧‧ recessed hole

33‧‧‧ convex

34‧‧‧foot stand

4‧‧‧Power source

L‧‧‧ liquid

R‧‧‧ Large particle aerosol molecules

F‧‧‧fine particle aerosol molecules

The first figure shows a front plan cross-sectional view of the atomizer structure of the present invention.

The second drawing shows a side plan view of the appearance of the atomizer of the present invention.

The third figure shows a partial plan view of an embodiment in which the spray module of the present invention is sprayed out of the aerosol, and the gas mist is further decomposed into finer particles by a filter.

The fourth figure shows a front cross-sectional view of the nebulizer of the present invention with a liquid reflux system.

The fifth drawing shows a partial plan view of an embodiment of the liquid reflux system of the present invention for sucking back the liquid medicine at the lowest position of the collection container into the container.

Figure 6 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the filter of the present invention as a flat plate.

The seventh drawing shows a schematic view of an embodiment of the filter of the present invention which is a plate having a concave curved surface.

The eighth figure shows a schematic view of an embodiment of the filter of the present invention having a plate having a convex curved surface.

The ninth drawing shows a partial plan cross-sectional view of an embodiment in which the filter of the present invention is provided with a plurality of recessed holes toward a surface of the spray module.

The tenth figure shows a partial plan cross-sectional view of an embodiment in which the filter of the present invention is provided with a plurality of bumps on a surface facing the spray module.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and the <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt; </ RTI> <RTIgt;

As shown in the first and second figures, the nebulizer provided by the present invention is a medical spray device for thoracic inhalation treatment, which comprises a drug container 1 and a power connected to the drug container 1 The source container 1 has a drug-filling space 10 located above, and a lower space 10A located below for connecting the power source 4; the bottom surface 101 of the drug-filling space 10 is a sloped surface, and the drug container near the bottom surface 101 1 side wall is provided with a suitable diameter of the liquid medicine outlet 12, and an injection port 11 is arranged at the upper end of the medicine container 1; the atomizer is in the production process by injection The mouth 11 injects the drug solution into the drug-filling space 10, and then seals the injection port 11 with a sealing plug (not shown) to prevent the drug solution from oozing out of the drug-filling container 1.

The liquid medicine outlet 12 of the medicine container 1 is provided with a spray module 2, which is a modularized method for ejecting the liquid medicine in the medicine containing space 10 and generating an atomized gas form (ie, an aerosol). A device, which is known in the art; for example, the spray module 2 can be an oscillator having one or more tapered holes in its surface as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,629,646; The disclosed sound wave vibrator and mesh member are disclosed; or a drive unit for providing vibrational energy and a polymer layer as disclosed in German Patent No. 102009001867. As shown in the first figure, in the embodiment of the present invention, the spray module 2 includes an annular ultrasonic oscillator 22, and is connected to the annular intermediate hole of the ultrasonic oscillator 22 to have a plurality of micro holes. The microgrid 21; thereby, when the ultrasonic oscillator 22 is actuated, the microgrid 21 can be driven to generate high-speed vibration in the axial direction of the ultrasonic oscillator 22.

The power source 4 disposed under the medicine container 1 is basically a housing which is internally a battery chamber and is provided with an associated circuit board (not shown), and some components of the power source 4 can be accommodated in the medicine container. The lower space 10A of the battery is provided in the battery compartment, and the circuit board is electrically connected to the ultrasonic oscillator 22 of the spray device 2 by a conductive wire. Therefore, the ultrasonic oscillator 22 can be provided by the battery. The power needed.

As shown in the first figure, the present invention further provides a filter 3 having a distance from the spray module 2 and blocking the sprayed atomizing gas in the direction in which the atomizing gas is sprayed from the spray module 2 in the spray container 2. The atomized gas that is ejected hits the filter 3 again to produce finer atomized gas particles. In the embodiment of the present invention, the filter 3 is a plate body, and the plate body may be a flat surface (as shown in FIG. 6) or a concave surface facing a surface 31 of the spray module (as shown in the seventh figure). Show), or set the surface 31 to be convex (as shown in Figure 8). The planar, concave or convex surface 31 may be provided with a plurality of appropriately sized recesses 32 (as shown in the ninth diagram) or a plurality of lobes 33 (as shown in the tenth diagram) may be provided on the surface 31. The area of the surface 31, the curvature of the concave or convex surface, the number and size of the concave holes 32 or the convex particles 33, and the distance between the filter 3 and the spray module 2 can be determined according to the size of the aerosol particles. And adjusting, for example, the distance between the surface of the plate body and the spray module is greater than, equal to or less than the diameter of the plate body; the adjustment procedure is set when the atomizer is manufactured at the factory, and the consumer cannot Change the set specifications. The screening The device 3 is disposed in the aerosol ejection direction of the spray module 2, and a plurality of legs 34 may be disposed around the filter 3, and the ends of the stand 34 may be fixed to the outer wall or other components of the drug container 1.

As shown in the third figure, the nebulizer is provided by the filter 3 described above. When the drug solution L is contained in the drug-filling space 10, the drug solution L flows along the bottom surface 101 to the drug solution outlet 12 to contact the micro-network. Sheet 21, but because the micro-mesh apertures on the micro-mesh 21 have a very small aperture, so that the surface tension of the liquid L will plug the mesh and fail to pass through the mesh; at this time, when the spray unit 2 is activated, When the ultrasonic oscillator 22 is actuated, the microgrid 21 is pulled by the ultrasonic oscillator 22 to generate axial high-speed vibration, and the liquid medicine L that is pressed against the mesh of the microgrid 21 is pushed out of the mesh to generate large particles. The mist molecule R, when the large particle aerosol molecule R hits the filter 3, splits into finer fine particle aerosol molecules F, and the fine particle aerosol molecules F float out from the periphery of the filter 3 to provide use. Inhalation therapy is performed.

By the arrangement of the spray module 2 and the filter 3, the mesh diameter of the micro-mesh 21 can be manufactured to be more than 5 μm at a relatively low cost, so that the diameter of the ejected large-particle aerosol molecules R is also greater than 5 μm. When the large particle aerosol molecule R of 5 μm or more hits the filter 3 and is broken into fine particle aerosol molecules F having a diameter of 5 μm or less, the manufacturing cost of the entire atomizer is lowered.

As shown in the fourth figure, the present invention can further provide a liquid refluxing system 13 for recycling the aerosol after it is aerosolized into a liquid medicine to avoid waste of the liquid and secondary environmental pollution. The liquid reflux system 13 includes a collecting container 131, a first opening 134 disposed on the outer side wall of the medicine container 1 near the lower end, and a second opening 135 disposed on the inner side wall of the upper end of the medicine holding space 10, An opening 134 and a second opening 135 are connected and communicated by a conduit 136, and the two ends of the conduit 136 are respectively sealed with the first opening 134 and the second opening 135; the conduit 136 can be hiddenly disposed in the medicine container 1 The channel is reserved inside the side wall and bypasses the liquid medicine outlet 12. The collection container 131 is connected to the medicine container 1 and has a slanted mist discharge tube 132. The lower end of the inclined gas mist outlet tube 132 corresponds to the position of the filter 3 and the spray module 2; The container 131 also has a lowest position 133 that abuts and communicates with the first opening 134. In this embodiment, the ends of the respective legs 34 provided in the filter 3 can be fixed inside the collection container 13 so that the filter 3 corresponds to the position of the spray module 2 in the direction of the aerosol.

As shown in the fifth figure, with the structure, when the drug solution L is contained in the drug-filling space 10, the drug solution L flows along the bottom surface 101 to the drug solution outlet 12 to contact the micro-mesh 21, but because of the micro-grid The plurality of microcells on the sheet 21 have a small aperture such that the surface tension of the liquid L will plug the mesh and fail to pass through the mesh; at this time, when the spray unit 2 is activated to cause the ultrasonic oscillator 22 to operate The micro-mesh 21 is pulled by the ultrasonic oscillator 22 to generate an axial high-speed vibration, and the liquid medicine L that is pressed against the mesh of the micro-mesh 21 is pushed out of the mesh to generate a large-particle aerosol molecule R, which is a large particle gas. When the mist molecule R hits the filter 3, it splits into finer fine particle aerosol molecules F, which are floated from the periphery of the filter 3 to provide the user with inhalation therapy. Part of the large particle aerosol molecule R and the fine particle aerosol molecule F will fall into the lowest position 133 into a chemical solution, and part of the fine aerosol molecules F in the gas mist outlet tube 132 will also fall on the inclined gas mist outlet tube 132. The inner diameter is turned into a chemical liquid, and then flows down the slope to the lowest position 133. The liquid medicine in the lowest position 133 blocks the first opening 134, so that the passage of the drug-filling space 10, the second opening 135 and the conduit 136 cannot generate convection. The negative pressure is formed in the drug-filling space 10, thereby generating a siphoning effect, so that the liquid medicine L in the lowest position 133 can enter the drug-filling space 10 through the first opening 134, the conduit 136 and the second opening 135; in other words, it has been The liquid that is sprayed into an aerosol but not absorbed can be recycled and reused, thereby avoiding the waste of the liquid and avoiding secondary pollution to the environment.

The above is only a preferred embodiment for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the invention in any way, so that any modifications or changes relating to the invention may be made in the spirit of the same invention. All should still be included in the scope of the intention of the present invention.

1‧‧‧Pharmaceutical container

10‧‧‧Pharmaceutical space

101‧‧‧ bottom

11‧‧‧ injection port

12‧‧‧Drug outlet

13‧‧‧Drug reflux system

131‧‧‧Collection container

132‧‧‧Air mist export tube

133‧‧‧lowest position

134‧‧‧ first opening

135‧‧‧ second opening

136‧‧‧ catheter

2‧‧‧ spray module

21‧‧‧Micro-mesh

22‧‧‧Supersonic oscillator

3‧‧‧Filter

31‧‧‧ surface

32‧‧‧ recessed hole

33‧‧‧ convex

34‧‧‧foot stand

4‧‧‧Power source

L‧‧‧ liquid

R‧‧‧ Large particle aerosol molecules

F‧‧‧fine particle aerosol molecules

Claims (9)

A medical micro-mesh atomizer for effectively controlling the output of ultra-fine atomized particles comprises a drug-filling container having a drug-filling space and a drug solution outlet, and a spray mold disposed at the drug liquid outlet and electrically connected to the power source In the group, when the chemical liquid contacts the actuating spray module through the chemical liquid outlet, the high-speed vibration generated by the spray module collides to form an atomizing gas of a plurality of small particles, and is characterized in that: The medicine container is disposed in a direction in which the atomizing gas is sprayed from the spray module, and a filter having a distance from the spray module and blocking the sprayed atomizing gas, so that the sprayed atomized gas hits the filter again a finer atomized gas particle; and the drug container is provided with a chemical liquid circulation reflux system, the drug liquid circulation reflux system comprising a collection container connected to the drug container, the collection container having a lowest position adjacent to the The medicine container in the lowest position is provided with a first opening, and the medicine container is disposed at a position higher than the first opening to provide a second opening connecting the medicine space, the first a conduit is sealingly connected to the second opening, so that the liquid medicine outlet and the first opening are closed by the liquid medicine, and the medicinal space generates a siphon effect when the negative pressure is generated, thereby automatically focusing on the lowest position. The liquid is pumped into the drug-filling space. The atomizer of claim 1, wherein the collection container is provided with an aerosol discharge tube that is axially aligned with the filter and is inclined. The atomizer according to claim 1, wherein the filter is a plate body having a flat surface, a concave surface or a convex surface facing a surface of the spray module. The atomizer of claim 3, wherein the filter has an area larger than an area of the corresponding spray module. The atomizer of claim 3, wherein the filter has an area smaller than an area of the corresponding spray module. The atomizer of claim 3, wherein the plate body is provided with a plurality of recessed holes toward a surface of the spray module. The atomizer of claim 3, wherein the plate body faces the spray mold One surface of the set is provided with a plurality of bumps. The atomizer of claim 3, wherein the surface of the plate body is at a greater distance from the spray module than the diameter of the plate body. The atomizer of claim 3, wherein the surface of the plate body is spaced from the spray module by a distance smaller than a diameter of the plate body.