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Due to proprietary concerns, this project is password protected. The following project
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Some patients whose breathing is assisted with a respirator also require the administration of a drug from a metered dose inhaler (MDI). MDI drug administration requires that the inhaler be properly shaken before delivery and than administered during the correct time in the patient’s breathing cycle. Currently, a nurse manually shakes the inhaler, connects the inhaler to the respirator tubing, and releases the contents of the inhaler when signaled by the respirator machine. The process is repeated as many times as indicated by the prescription. Not only will the manual procedure lead to greater uncertainty in the timing of the drug release, but this process will take up the valuable time of a nurse. Depending on the number of times the inhaler must be fired, this process can take up to 20 minutes out of a nurse’s time. Automating the process would not only give the nursing staff more time to perform other tasks, it would also lead to a more accurate timing of drug delivery. One step in automating this process is building a device that will properly mix the drug and propellant within the inhaler. This mixing device should connect to the respirator tubing and respond to signals from the respirator that would lead to the mixing process. An important part of this problem is finding the correct frequency and amplitudes of vibration that will lead to proper mixing.
