Virtual Assessment of the Performance of an Inhalation Drug Delivery Device

Inhalation therapies are gaining popularity for both respiratory and non-respiratory therapies. However the challenge remains to achieve optimal drug delivery because of the complex interaction between inhaler devices, drug formulations along with patients’ coordination and physiology. In order to lower R&D costs and efforts, and understand better the mechanics of pharmaceutical aerosols, system designers are looking for comprehensive tools enabling them to reproduce virtual inhalation processes. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques represent a non-invasive way of predicting the fate of inhaled medication from oral or nasal delivery devices. The object of this work is to apply CFD methodology to model the full inhalation mechanism, from the drug dispersion inside the device and delivery to the patient, to its journey within the respiratory tract.