Compliance monitoring module for an inhaler
AssigneeNorton (Waterford) Limited
InventorsMark Steven Morrison, Douglas E. Weitzel, Enrique Calderon Oliveras, Daniel Buck
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compliance monitoring module for an inhaler comprising: a miniature pressure sensor, a sensor port of said sensor being configured to be pneumatically coupled to a flow channel of said inhaler through which a user can inhale; a processor configured to: receive data from a sensing element of the pressure sensor; receive data from a mode sensor configured to detect when the inhaler changes from an inactive mode to an active mode; and based on said data from said pressure sensor sensing element and said data from said mode sensor, compile a compliance report; and a transmitter configured to issue said compliance report.
Claims19
A pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) comprising:
- a boot-shaped housing;
- a medication reservoir comprising medicament, wherein the medication reservoir is housed within the boot-shaped housing;
- a top cover configured to be attached to an upper section of the boot-shaped housing;
- and
- a monitoring module located between an underside of the top cover and a top of the medication reservoir, the monitoring module comprising:
- a pressure sensor comprising a sensor port, wherein the sensor port is configured to be pneumatically coupled to a flow channel of the inhaler through which a user can inhale;
- a processor configured to receive data from the pressure sensor;
- and
- a wireless transmitter configured to transmit the data to a user device;
- and
- wherein the pressure sensor, the processor, and the wireless transmitter are located between the underside of the top cover and the top of the medication reservoir.
A system comprising:
- a user device comprising a processor;
- and
- a pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) comprising:
- a boot-shaped housing;
- a medication reservoir comprising medicament, wherein the medication reservoir is housed within the boot-shaped housing;
- a top cover configured to be attached to an upper section of the boot-shaped housing;
- and
- a monitoring module located in a space between an underside of the top cover and a top of the medication reservoir, the monitoring module comprising:
- a sensor comprising a sensor port, wherein the sensor port is configured to be pneumatically coupled to a flow channel of the inhaler through which a user can inhale;
- a processor configured to receive data from the sensor;
- and
- a wireless transmitter configured to transmit the data to the user device;
- and
- wherein the processor of the user device is configured to process the data from the sensor and determine, based on the data, whether one or more predetermined requirements for successful dosing are met.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.