Get it right every time, do it fast and keep it clean. In a nutshell, those were the requirements imposed upon medical device maker Aradigm Corp. (Hayward, CA) when it set out to find a system to measure a key component used in the company's AERx pulmonary drug delivery system.
The AERx is a handheld aerosol dispenser that is used by patients for self-administration of consistent dosages of medication delivered to the lungs in fine-particle aerosol form. The system includes electronic controls to determine how much active pharmaceutical material is dispensed. The active substance is contained in a sleeve-like plastic disposable pouch called a dosage form (DF).