An Aerosol nozzle valve

Lung diseases are a major cause of illness worldwide. According to recent estimates 3% of the world population suffer from Asthma. More severe chronic lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis are expected to be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2040.

Improving drug delivery to the lung: liquid inhalers

At MST we are actively working on improving the state of the art in portable medical inhalers, which are used to treat chronic lung disease. Inhalation of liquid Aerosols dates back to India more than 4000 years ago. Recent advances in liquid inhalers have brought new aerosolization techniques such as Rayleigh-jet based inhalers, which are capable of producing highly monodisperse liquid aerosols. Instead of relying on greenhouse-gas active propellants, these inhalers can be operated by spring force.

However, the spray chips used for Rayleigh-jet inhalers are prone to bacterial contamination and ingrowth. That is why we have been working on a valved aerosol spray chip, a system that sprays a microjet when actuated and seals against bacterial ingrowth into the spray nozzle in the closed state. The sealing mechanism is realized by placing a valve seat directly underneath the spray orifices.

Our system aims to enable the safe reuse of spray chips for multiple spray operations over an extended period, lowering the cost of treatment while increasing patient compliance.