NORTON (WATERFORD) LIMITED

Disclosed is a dry powder inhaler for delivering medicament from at least one blister pack, each blister pack having a plurality of spaced-apart blister pockets containing doses of the medicament. The inhaler comprises: a housing for accommodating unused and used portions of the at least one blister pack together with a dispensing mechanism for simultaneously opening at least two blister pockets at a time; and a manifold component through which air can be drawn in use of the inhaler. The manifold component comprises: first and second air inlet openings for receiving external air a first air outlet opening for providing the external air to a first opened blister pocket and a first medicament inlet opening for receiving air-entrained medicament from the first opened blister pocket, the first air outlet opening and the first medicament inlet opening being arranged side-by-side to enable simultaneous communication with the first opened blister pocket; a second air outlet opening for providing the external air to a second opened blister pocket and a second medicament inlet opening for receiving air-entrained medicament from the second opened blister pocket, the second air outlet opening and the second medicament inlet opening being arranged side-by-side to enable simultaneous communication with the second opened blister pocket; and a medicament outlet opening for delivery of the air-entrained medicament from the first and second opened blister pockets to the user, the first and second medicament inlet openings being fluidly connected to the medicament outlet opening by a medicament delivery conduit formed in the manifold component. The first and second air inlet openings are fluidly connected to the first and second air outlet openings by respective first and second air conduits in the manifold component, wherein the air conduits are separately provided so that the external air from each of the first and second air inlet openings does not mix with the external air from the other of the first and second air inlet openings before reaching the first and second opened blister pockets.

The introduction of electronics into a drug delivery device may introduce certain technical challenges, such as durability, electro-mechanical integration, and drug delivery performance. The present disclosure provides solutions for inclusion of an electronics module with an inhaler. For example, heat stakes may be used to secure a printed circuit board (PCB) to an electronics module's housing. Also for example, a slider may be used to transfer vertical movement of an inhaler's yoke to an electronics module's switch. Also for example, certain seals may be used when interfacing the electronics module to other portions of the device's housing to achieve a desired performance.

Provided is a system for determining a probability of a respiratory disease exacerbation in a subject. The system comprises an inhaler arrangement for delivering a medicament to the subject. The medicament may be a rescue medicament and/or a maintenance medicament. The inhaler arrangement has a use-detection system configured to determine an inhalation performed by the subject using the inhaler arrangement. A sensor system is configured to measure a parameter relating to airflow during the inhalation. A user interface enables user-input of an indication of a status of the respiratory disease being experienced by the subject. A processor is configured to determine the probability of the respiratory disease exacerbation based on the recorded inhalation(s) from the use-detection system, the parameter(s) received from the sensor system, and the indication received from the user interface. Further provided is a method for determining the probability of a respiratory disease exacerbation in a subject.

Provided is a system for determining a probability of a respiratory disease exacerbation in a subject. The system comprises an inhaler arrangement for delivering a medicament to the subject. The medicament may be a rescue medicament and/or a maintenance medicament. The inhaler arrangement has a use-detection system configured to determine an inhalation performed by the subject using the inhaler arrangement. A sensor system is configured to measure a parameter relating to airflow during the inhalation. A user interface enables user-input of an indication of a status of the respiratory disease being experienced by the subject. A processor is configured to determine the probability of the respiratory disease exacerbation based on the recorded inhalation(s) from the use-detection system, the parameter(s) received from the sensor system, and the indication received from the user interface. Further provided is a method for determining the probability of a respiratory disease exacerbation in a subject.

Provided is a system ( 10 ) for determining a probability of an asthma exacerbation in a subject. The system comprises an inhaler ( 100 ) for delivering a rescue medicament to the subject. The inhaler has a use-detection system ( 12 B) configured to determine a rescue inhalation performed by the subject using the first inhaler. A sensor system ( 12 A) is configured to measure a parameter relating to airflow during the rescue inhalation. The system further comprises a processor ( 14 ) configured to determine a number of the rescue inhalations during a first time period, and receive the parameter measured for at least some of the rescue inhalations. The processor determines, using a weighted model, the probability of the asthma exacerbation based on the number of rescue inhalations and the parameters. The model is weighted such that the number of rescue inhalations is more significant in the probability determination than the parameters.

Provided is a blister pack for a dry powder inhaler, which dry powder inhaler is configured to deliver a first powder medicament and a second powder medicament different from the first powder medicament. The first and second powder medicaments are contained within blister pockets defined in a strip. A series of blister pockets is defined in the strip, which series extends linearly along the length of the strip. The first and second powder medicaments are contained in blister pockets, e.g. respective blister pockets, of the series. Alternatively or additionally, each of the blister pockets is elongated such as to have a largest dimension parallel with the length of the strip. These measures, either individually or in combination, enable minimizing of the width of the strip in spite of the strip accommodating both the first and second powder medicaments. This, in turn, may enable the depth/thickness of the dry powder inhaler to be minimized, and/or additional space to be provided inside the dry powder inhaler for accommodating, for example, use detection and wireless connectivity electronics for sending use detection data to an external device, such as a smartphone.

An electronic module for a medical device such as an inhaler is disclosed, the electronic module comprising a printed circuit board, and a damper configured to dampen energy transfer to and/or from a battery when a battery is connected to the electronic module and the electronic module is exposed to mechanical shock.

Provided is a system ( 10 ) for determining a probability of an asthma exacerbation in a subject. The system comprises an inhaler ( 100 ) for delivering a rescue medicament to the subject. The inhaler has a use-detection system ( 12 B) configured to determine a rescue inhalation performed by the subject using the first inhaler. A sensor system ( 12 A) is configured to measure a parameter relating to airflow during the rescue inhalation. The system further comprises a processor ( 14 ) configured to determine a number of the rescue inhalations during a first time period, and receive the parameter measured for at least some of the rescue inhalations. The processor determines, using a weighted model, the probability of the asthma exacerbation based on the number of rescue inhalations and the parameters. The model is weighted such that the number of rescue inhalations is more significant in the probability determination than the parameters.

Provided is a method for generating an assessment of a respiratory disease in a subject at a current point in time. The method comprises determining a baseline statistic relating to usage of an inhaler in a baseline period. The inhaler is configured to deliver a rescue medicament to the subject, and has a use determination system configured to determine usage of the inhaler by the subject. The method also comprises determining a current statistic relating to usage of the inhaler in a current period containing the current point in time. The method further comprises generating a comparator variable. Generating the comparator variable comprises comparing the current statistic and the baseline statistic. The assessment of the respiratory disease is based on the comparator variable.

A system may include a mobile application residing on an external device and an inhalation device. The inhalation device may include a mouthpiece, a mouthpiece cover, medicament, and an electronics module comprising a processor. The inhalation device may be configured to both prepare a dose of medicament for delivery to a user and cause the processor to transition between power states when the mouthpiece cover is moved from a closed position to an open position to expose the mouthpiece. The electronics module or the mobile application may be configured to generate usage events based on usage of the inhalation device by the user. The electronics module may also include a pressure sensor, and the electronics module or the mobile application may be configured to determine whether a usage event is a good inhalation event, a fair inhalation event, or a no inhalation event based on feedback from the pressure sensor.