Apparatus and method for delivery of an aerosol
An apparatus for measuring lung ventilation, comprising: a pressure device to measure volume of air flow; an aerosol-generating device that provides aerosol particles to be released at a determined point in a breathing cycle; a mouthpiece with a detector that measures the concentration of aerosol particles for a given volume during the breathing cycle; and a computing device configured to provide lung ventilation data as a function of time constants.
1. A method for determining the position of an obstruction in the upper region of the lungs, comprising the steps of:
a. measuring pressure data and calculating volume of airflow of a breathing cycle;
b. providing a volume of penetration;
c. providing an aerosol bolus at a determined point of the breathing cycle;
d. measuring a concentration values of aerosol particles and calculating time constants from the measured aerosol concentration values;
f. repeating steps b to d using a different volume of penetration; and
g. comparing the calculated time constants, in a processing device, from at least two provided volumes of penetration to determine the position of an obstruction.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the provided volumes of penetration for an adult is from 50 cm 3 to 400 cm 3 .
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the provided volumes of penetration for a child is from 25 cm 3 to 200 cm 3 .
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the provided volumes of penetration for an infant is from 10 cm 3 to 50 cm 3 .
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aerosol bolus is provided at a determined point of a inhalation step of a respiratory cycle.