Aerosol Generation for Lung Delivery: a 95% Efficient Solution
Jackson Gum,
Masters Research Student,
Monash University
It is essential to provide an improved treatment solution to asthma and COPD patients; inhaler users struggle to effectively administer their dosage, resulting in wasted medication and potential side-effects. Inefficiencies in inhaler devices include generating aerosols of the wrong size; poorly timed patient breathing; and leftover fluid that cannot be delivered. PALM is a smart inhaler device which improves on all areas to create a more efficient device than anything on the market. A novel geometry for ultrasonic aerosol generation produced the ideal droplet distribution; It was experimentally determined that 95 percent of the droplets are 1-5 micrometres in diameter, which is the ideal size range for lung delivery. The mechanism for nebulisation follows capillary wave theory, where the wavelength on the fluid-air interface governs the mean droplet size, and can be controlled by changing the frequency of the piezo actuator. A theoretical model is presented for the expected mean droplet size and Fine Particle Fraction at actuation frequencies from 0.5 to 3 MHz and beyond, based on experimental results over the same range; this allows PALM to generate droplets with a mean size of 3-20 micrometres, improving respiratory treatments for a range of conditions and target areas.
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