Patent Application
20190099563
Not Applicable.
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Not Applicable
The present invention relates to method and system for improving patient use of a bronchodilator to treat pulmonary and bronchial constriction diseases arising from both short and long term illness.
Pulmonary and bronchial constriction diseases such as Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and others are routinely treated by administering an aqueous solution containing a bronchodilator drug in aerosolized form from a nebulizer. Common bronchodilators employed to treat such diseases in aerosolized form from a nebulizer are, among others, albuterol, levalbuterol, and ipratropium bromide. Such drugs are typically prescribed and delivered to the patient in small plastic vials containing a pre-measured liquid dosage solution. In order to access the medicine in such vials, the patient must tear off a crimped top section of the vial so that the patient can pour the aqueous solution into the designated chamber on a nebulizer. Patients with physical limitations or disabilities, such as elderly patients, often find it difficult to administer their treatments without assistance because their physical limitations make it virtually impossible to open such vials. Another drug that is effective in the treatment of pulmonary and bronchial constriction diseases is liquid terbutaline sulfate. Although liquid terbutaline sulfate is also effective when used from a nebulizer, such use is atypical because liquid terbutaline sulfate is not usually available in plastic dosage vials. Rather, liquid terbutaline sulphate is most commonly packaged in capped glass ampules such as those used for injectable drugs. In view of the effectiveness of liquid terbutaline sulphate in treating pulmonary and bronchial constriction diseases, a method and apparatus that can be employed by pharmacists and patients allowing for the increased ease of use of liquid terbutaline sulphate from capped glass ampules in nebulizers is desirable. Such apparatus and methods for use of liquid terbutaline sulphate stored in capped ampules are contemplated herein.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide apparatus and methods for the use by pharmacists and patients of liquid terbutaline sulphate packaged in injectable capped glass ampules in the treatment of pulmonary and bronchial constriction diseases from a nebulizer. Accordingly, the present invention, in one embodiment, contemplates a process in accordance with the present invention that may include the steps of
In another embodiment, there is contemplated a process in accordance with the present invention that may include the steps of
The above described and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings and appended claims.
The object and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following figures depict presently preferred embodiment of the present invention and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope.
Referring now to the invention in more detail, in
The method 100 may comprise filling a patient's prescription with an approved derivative of liquid terbutaline sulphate in capped glass ampules 102.
Referring now to
The method 200 may include the pharmacy selecting one of several different types of approved de-capping devices for inclusion in the kit 204 based on the individual patient's needs, physical limitations and dexterity.
The method 200 may include the pharmacy selecting a base having a receiving chamber for receiving and holding a capped glass ampule in varying shapes and sizes for inclusion in the kit 204 based on the individual patient's needs, physical limitations and dexterity.
While the foregoing written description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to use what is considered presently to be the best method thereof, it has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Combinations of the above arrangements, and other arrangements not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed.
