Collapsible, disposable MDI spacer and method

A medication inhalation apparatus, comprising:

• (a) a collapsible/expandable housing for bounding a first volume when expanded, the first volume receiving a plume of medication particles ejected by an MDI inhaler;
• (b) a collapsible/expandable mouthpiece section disposed at a first opening of the housing and bounding a second volume, the mouthpiece section including a mouthpiece opening in an end of the mouthpiece section;
• (c) a one-way inhalation valve disposed between the mouthpiece opening and the first volume for allowing one-way flow of gas from the first volume to the mouthpiece opening;
• and
• (d) a boot adapter panel connected to an inlet end of the housing, and an opening for receiving a mouthpiece of the MDI inhaler,
• the one-way inhalation valve including an inhalation flap and a valve seat, whereby an exhalation by a patient through the mouthpiece opening presses the inhalation flap against the valve seat to prevent flow of exhaled gas from the mouthpiece opening into the first volume, the exhaled gas flowing through an opening in the mouthpiece section between the one-way inhalation valve and the mouthpiece opening,
• inhalation through the mouthpiece opening causing a portion of the inhalation flap to move away from the valve seat to provide a path for the flow of gas from the first volume into the mouthpiece section, wherein the housing and mouthpiece section are composed of separate pieces of material adhesively attached together to provide the medication inhalation apparatus.

A medication inhalation apparatus, comprising:

• (a) a collapsible/expandable housing for bounding a first volume when expanded, the first volume receiving a plume of medication particles ejected by an MDI inhaler;
• (b) a collapsible/expandable mouthpiece section disposed at a first opening of the housing and bounding a second volume, the mouthpiece section including a mouthpiece opening in an end of the mouthpiece section;
• (c) a one-way inhalation valve disposed between the mouthpiece opening and the first volume for allowing one-way flow of gas from the first volume to the mouthpiece opening;
• and
• (d) a boot adapter panel connected to an inlet end of the housing, and an opening for receiving a mouthpiece of the MDI inhaler,
• the one-way inhalation valve including an inhalation flap and a valve seat, whereby an exhalation by a patient through the mouthpiece opening presses the inhalation flap against the valve seat to prevent flow of exhaled gas from the mouthpiece opening into the first volume, the exhaled gas flowing through an opening in the mouthpiece section between the one-way inhalation valve and the mouthpiece opening,
• inhalation through the mouthpiece opening causing a portion of the inhalation flap to move away from the valve seat to provide a path for the flow of gas from the first volume into the mouthpiece section, wherein the housing and mouthpiece section are integral and are composed of a single piece of material from the group consisting of paper and plastic, and wherein the housing includes a chamber section including a top panel, a right side panel, a left side panel, a bottom panel, and an adhesive piece.

A method of expanding a medication inhalation apparatus from an initially flat, collapsed configuration, comprising:

• (a) providing
• i. a housing and a mouthpiece section in the collapsed configuration, the mouthpiece section being disposed at an outlet end of the housing when the medication inhalation apparatus is expanded, the mouthpiece section including a mouthpiece opening in an end of the mouthpiece section,
• ii. a one-way inhalation valve disposed between the mouthpiece opening and the housing when expanded for allowing one-way flow of gas from the housing to the mouthpiece opening when the medication inhalation apparatus is expanded, and
• iii. a boot adapter panel connected to an inlet end of the housing, and an opening in the boot adapter panel for receiving a mouthpiece of an MDI inhaler, the one-way inhalation valve including an inhalation flap and a valve seat, an exhalation by a patient through the mouthpiece opening pressing the inhalation flap against the valve seat to prevent flow of exhaled gas from the mouthpiece opening into the housing, the exhaled gas flowing through an opening in the mouthpiece section between the one-way inhalation valve and the mouthpiece opening, inhalation through the mouthpiece opening causing a portion of the inhalation flap to move away from the valve seat to provide a path for the flow of gas from inside the volume into the mouthpiece section;
• and
• (b) manually expanding the housing and the mouthpiece sections by
• i. forcing a pair of side panels of the housing into a position approximately perpendicular to a top panel and a bottom panel of the housing, and
• ii. forcing a panel in which the inhalation valve is disposed to be substantially inclined to the top and bottom panels.