With metered-dose inhalers, precision is paramount, in terms of both medication delivery and the technology involved in creating the product. A device from Boehringer Ingelheim using seals manufactured by Trelleborg is a leap forward on both scores.
Anyone who has ever taken medication with a conventional metered-dose inhaler will know how hard it is to inhale firmly and precisely enough to get the sudden spray down into the lungs. Many users take an extra dose or two, as they are unsure if they administered it correctly the first time.
And they probably didn’t. A lot of the medication simply gets swallowed. The drops are too big and the propulsion speed is too high for the process to work well, even if the user breathes properly.
But what if you could simply take a deep, relaxed breath, and the medication would glide down into the lungs?
Pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has developed an inhaler, the Respimat, that produces a gentle cloud, leaving plenty of time to breathe in and get the medication where it needs to be. The Respimat directs two powerful jets of liquid that merge at a controlled angle, dissipating into what the company calls a soft mist that lasts well over a second.
The inhaler is made at Boehringer Ingelheim’s microParts subsidiary in Dortmund, Germany, and is proving to be a success. Several studies have shown that patients prefer Respimat to other inhalers, says Frank Dieckheuer, Production Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim.
Not yet a Subscriber?
This is a small extract of the full article which is available ONLY to premium content subscribers. Click below to get premium content on Manufacturing Chemist.
Subscribe now Already a subscriber? Sign in here.