Catheter system for delivery of aerosolized medicine for use with pressurized propellant canister

An apparatus for delivery of an aerosolized medicine to a patient's respiratory tract comprising:

• a pressurized canister containing a mixture of fine particles of a medicine and a liquid propellant and further in which an aerosolized dose of the medicine can be generated when the mixture is expelled to ambient pressure at which the propellant in the mixture evaporates;
• a catheter having a lumen extending therethrough and a length such that a proximal end of said catheter is located outside the patient's body and a distal end is located in an air flow passage in the patient's respiratory tract, said distal end having an exit orifice communicating with said lumen;
• a proximal portion of said catheter and said canister having a permanent connection to each other so as to permit the mixture from said canister to be transmitted into the lumen of said catheter;
• and
• an actuator valve located in at least one of said catheter and said canister to regulate the flow of mixture from said canister to said exit orifice.

An apparatus for delivery of an aerosolized medicine to a patient's respiratory tract from a pressurized canister of a type that contains a mixture of fine particles of a medicine and a liquid propellant and further in which an aerosolized dose of the medicine is generated when the mixture is expelled to ambient pressure at which the propellant in the mixture evaporates, said apparatus comprising:

• a catheter having a lumen extending therethrough and a length such that a proximal end of said catheter is located outside the patient's body and a distal end is located in an air flow passage in the patient's respiratory tract, said distal end having an exit orifice communicating with said lumen;
• a connection between a proximal portion of said catheter and said canister to permit the mixture from said canister to be transmitted into the lumen of said catheter, said lumen and said exit orifice sized to maintain a pressure inside said lumen sufficient to maintain said mixture in a liquid state;
• and
• a baffle located adjacent to said exit orifice.