Combined testing and treatment unit
View Patent ↗A combined or convertible handheld unit that combines a personal spirometer, exhalation-analysis or breath-analysis function with a nebulizer or vaporizing function. The nebulizer or vaporizing function includes, but is not limited to, functions provided by devices such as inhalers, nebulizers, vaporizers, humidifiers, ventilators, or other devices that are used for delivery of any sort of substance into the body via breathing, and includes but is not limited to devices that break up solutions and suspensions into small aerosol droplets for inhalation by a user. The unit also performs full exhalation detection and analytics.
1 . A device, comprising:
a housing with an exterior and an interior;
an opening in the housing, said opening configured to receive a pod containing a substance;
a first piezoelectric transducer configured to nebulize some or all of the substance when the pod is inserted into the opening;
an inhalation mouthpiece or mouth port in or on the housing, configured to emit the nebulized substance to a user; and
an exhalation mouthpiece or mouth port in or on the housing, configured to receive and direct exhaled breath of the user to a second transducer, said second transducer configured to detect one or more properties of the exhaled breath;
wherein the inhalation mouth port or mouthpiece is separate from the exhalation mouth port or mouthpiece, and the inhalation mouthpiece or mouth port and the exhalation mouthpiece or mouth port do not share any portion of a fluid passageway; and
wherein the exhaled breath does not come into contact with the first piezoelectric transducer.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the device provides both an inhalation function with a first fluid passageway via the inhalation mouthpiece or mouth port, and an exhalation function with a second fluid passageway via the exhalation mouthpiece or mouth port, wherein the first fluid passageway is separate from the second fluid passageway.
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the exhalation mouthpiece or mouth port is on the housing and the exhaled breath does not enter the interior of the housing.
4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the second transducer measures pressure.
5 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the device with exhalation mouthpiece or mouth port and second transducer is configured to act as a spirometer.
6 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising an ejection button configured to eject the pod from the opening when the ejection button is pressed.
7 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a peristaltic pump in the interior of the housing, said pump in fluid communication with an interior of the pod when the pod is inserted.
8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the exhalation mouthpiece or mouth port is slidingly or rotatably mounted on the housing.
9 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a control board, a battery, and a wireless communication chip.
10 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is portable and hand-held.