Portable inhaler with temperature control

A portable inhaler operable to control a temperature of a medicament stored on or in the inhaler, comprising:

• (a) means for storing a medicament on or in the inhaler;
• (b) means for ejecting the medicament from the inhaler to deliver the medicament to a patient;
• (c) means for affecting a temperature of the medicament, the means for affecting the temperature of the medicament being configured to controllably maintain the medicament within a predetermined temperature range in a use-ready state by alternately heating and cooling at least an inside portion of the means for storing the medicament;
• and
• (d) means for controlling the means for affecting the temperature of the medicament to enable control of the temperature of the medicament within the predetermined temperature range.

A method for maintaining a medicament within a predetermined temperature range while the medicament is operably associated with a portable inhaler, including the steps of:

• (a) disposing a quantity of the medicament within a reservoir associated with the portable inhaler;
• (b) affecting a temperature of the medicament with a thermal source, the thermal source being configured to controllably maintain the medicament within the predetermined temperature range in a use-ready state by alternately heating and cooling at least an inside portion of the medicament reservoir, thus helping to achieve an expected shelf-life of the medicament stored in the medicament reservoir until ejected from the reservoir;
• (c) monitoring a temperature of the medicament;
• and
• (d) controlling the thermal source to maintain the medicament within the predetermined temperature range.