United States Patent:  6,071,498

Assignee:  ASTA Medica Aktiengesellschaft (Dresden, DE)

Filed:  July 10, 1998

Pharmaceutical powder cartridge for powder inhalers for receiving a medicament depot for a large number of pharmaceutical powder doses, having an integrated metering device which comprises at least one metering cavity for receiving a predetermined quantity of a pharmaceutical powder, the integrated metering device being capable of being moved at least out of a filling position into an emptying position approximately transversely with respect to the flow direction of the pharmaceutical powder, and an inhaler for powdered medicaments, in which inhaler the medicament can be received by a patient by means of an air stream and which has a receptacle for such a pharmaceutical powder cartridge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a pharmaceutical powder cartridge and an inhaler with which the costs for the therapeutic use of a medicament are reduced. In addition, simple and reliable operation is to be made possible even for patients with poor coordination and such patients who are under extreme stress.

This object is achieved according to the invention by means of a pharmaceutical powder cartridge of the type mentioned at the beginning in which the integrated metering device comprises a metering slide which can be moved at least out of a filling position into an emptying position approximately transversely with respect to the flow direction of the pharmaceutical powder. The object is also achieved by an inhaler of the type mentioned at the beginning which comprises a receptacle for such a pharmaceutical powder cartridge and an inhaler with an optical display device for displaying the direct discharge of a medicament dose.

The pharmaceutical powder cartridge according to the invention can be manufactured particularly simply and economically so that it permits particularly cost-effective packaging of a depot of medicament and at the same time can be disposed of in a hygienically particularly advantageous way after a single use. After the pharmaceutical powder cartridge has been replaced, the inhaler according to the invention can be used again repeatedly and is also particularly easy and safe to operate even for elderly patients.

For a particularly good handling of the pharmaceutical powder cartridge before insertion into an inhaler it is advantageous if the metering slide can also be moved into a transportation position, in particular if the metering slide is fixed in the transportation position by spring-elastic means. If the medicament cartridge according to the invention is to be removed from an inhaler although it is not yet completely emptied, it is expedient if the medicament cartridge has on its underside a viewing window via which the position of the metering slide can be checked. In particular for patients for whom a medicament which is packed into the pharmaceutical powder cartridge is of vital importance, it is expedient if the pharmaceutical powder cartridge according to the invention is distinguished by a display device for the quantity of pharmaceutical doses which have been removed or which remain in the pharmaceutical powder cartridge, the display device for the quantity of medicament doses which have been removed or which remain being integrated into the upper edge region of the pharmaceutical powder cartridge.

An inhaler according to the invention which comprises a device for activating the metering slide of the integrated metering device of a pharmaceutical powder cartridge according to the invention, moving it at least a filling position into an emptying position, and a securing device for preventing the metering slide from returning into the filling position before the medicament dose is removed from the inhaler, is particularly well protected against incorrect operation, in particular if the inhaler also comprises a safety device which largely prevents the formation of an air stream for the removal of the medicament if the metering slide has not yet completely reached the emptying position. In particular for patients for whom the use of the medicament contained in a pharmaceutical powder cartridge according to the invention is of vital importance, it is particularly reassuring if an inhaler according to the invention comprises a visual display device for displaying that a medicament dose has been discharged, in particular if the inhaler comprises a device for reading, from outside the inhaler, the display device of a pharmaceutical powder cartridge according to the invention which has been inserted into the inhaler. It is particularly user-friendly here if the visual display devices and the device for reading the display device of a pharmaceutical powder cartridge which has been inserted into the inhaler are arranged on the inhaler in such a way that they are located in the field of vision of a patient when the said patient holds the inhaler in its position of use for inhaling.

Further expedient and advantageous features of the invention are claimed in the further subclaims.

Claim 1 of 14 Claims

1. An inhaler for powdered medicaments, in which the medicament is received by a patient by means of an air stream, the inhaler operable in two steps, the first step comprising depressing a metering button disposed on the inhaler which places the inhaler in a state of readiness, the second step comprising the subsequent inhalation of a dose of medicament, said inhaler comprising a mechanically activated visual display for indicating that the inhaler is ready for the immediate discharge of the medicament dose.

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