Universitas Indonesia Conferences, Asian Federation for Pharmaceutical Sciences (AFPS) 2019

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Usability and Mechanical Evaluation of intranasal drug delivery devices
Mikio Murata, Masahiro Sumi, Akio Nanba, Kiyoshi Kubota, Masaho Hayashi, Kiyomi Sadamoto

Last modified: 2019-06-16

Abstract


Background: A larger number of over-the-counter (OTC) intranasal drug delivery devices for allergic symptoms are available on the market, and many of them can be used for children aged 7 years or older. Few prior studies have examined the usability of intranasal drug delivery devices or whether children can use those devices following the methods described in their package inserts. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the shapes of intranasal drug delivery devices that are easy to use for both adults and children. We performed sensory and objective evaluations on the usability of intranasal drug delivery devices for children aged 7 years or older and adults, as well as mechanical studies on those devices. Materials and Methods: The usability of 5 intranasal drug delivery devices (A, B, C, D, and E) was sensorily evaluated in 59 children aged 7 to 12 years and 31 adults with the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). We measured the load required for spraying each intranasal drug delivery devices with the use of a digital force gauge. The contact force in operating the devices was measured with the use of HapLogR, a wearable contact force sensor. Results: Devices D and E, which are small in volume, were highly evaluated by children. Adults also listed those devices as the ones they want to use for themselves and the ones they want children to use. In the contact force measurement, the load characteristics differed depending on the shapes of the levers. Conclusion: It is suggested that the shape of the lever as well as the size of the device itself and the load in pressing the lever influences the usability of intranasal drug delivery devices. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K02464.