Nebulizer

Overview

A nebulizer turns liquid medication into a fine aerosol that a patient inhales deep into the lungs, delivering bronchodilators, steroids, and saline to treat asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and other respiratory conditions. The compressor (jet) type covered here drives a stream of compressed air through a small nozzle inside the drug cup, shearing the liquid into droplets. Only droplets in the 2–5 µm range reach the lower airways; larger ones impact and run back to be re-aerosolized, so the device trades treatment time for a tightly controlled particle size.

A mains-powered Piston Compressor supplies the driving air, which travels through the Air Delivery tubing to the Nebulizer Cup where atomization happens. The patient breathes the mist through the Nebulizer Cup's mouthpiece or mask. The Control Board handles on/off switching and protects the motor from overheating, and everything mounts inside the Housing on damping feet that keep compressor vibration off the bench.

How it works

The Piston Compressor is a single-cylinder reciprocating pump: a shaded-pole motor spins a crank that drives a piston up and down in a cylinder, and reed valves rectify each stroke into a steady one-way air flow. Intake air is cleaned by the Air Filter Set before it reaches the cylinder, and a relief valve caps the pressure if the line is pinched. The compressor typically holds 70–150 kPa behind the nozzle.

Inside the Nebulizer Cup, that pressurized air exits through the Venturi Nozzle. The fast jet creates a low-pressure region that pulls liquid up a feed tube from the medication cup and tears it into a coarse spray. A baffle sits in the droplet path: large droplets impact it and drain back into the reservoir, while fine respirable droplets follow the airstream out to the patient. This recirculation is why a full treatment runs several minutes and why a small residual volume always stays behind in the cup.

The cup, baffle, nozzle, mouthpiece, and mask are patient-contact parts that detach for cleaning, and the Accessory Set supplies spares plus adult and pediatric masks. Because the parts wet out and the foam intake filters load over time, both are routine consumables. The Control Board switches mains power to the motor and carries a thermal protector that opens the circuit if the winding overheats during back-to-back treatments.