Portable Nebulizer for Monodisperse Aerosol Generation

Development of an inexpensive, portable medical nebulizer is proposed for targeted delivery of monoaerosols to the lung. This nebulizer will not use CFCs, will be breath actuated, and will deliver thand high droplet density. These attributes are not present in any single nebulizer currently on thetechnical aspect of the proposed nebulizer is a small (l cm x l cm) silicon chip containing a very lsmall micronozzles from which droplets are dispensed. By using integrated circuit manufacturing tech10,000 of these micronozzles will be created on a single chip. These chips will produce very large nmicrodroplets, each equal in diameter to the micronozzle orifice size, which will vary from 0.5 micrmicromoles. The nebulizer will not require high pressures, an external pressure source, ultrasonic eextravagant means for droplet creation. Diminution of the bulk liquid into droplets occurs naturallyinstability of the jet formed at each micronozzle. This nebulizer will be effective in delivering measthma, cystic fibrosis, MDS-related pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema, and otheailments.