Philip Morris Products S.a.

Sandro Steiner

Antonin Sandoz

Pierre Herve

Shoaib Majeed

Arkadiusz Kuczaj

Julia Hoeng

There is described herein a perforated structure for use in a simulated respiratory tract, the structure comprising a perforated envelope housing one or more branched channels, wherein each perforation is an open terminal of a branch. Also described is a pump for displacing a volume of gas that includes one or more branched channels, such as the perforated structure described herein. Use of the pump in a system for determining the interaction between a test atmosphere and a simulated respiratory tract is also described, together with methods and uses of such a system.

Perforated structure

There is described herein a system for determining the interaction between a test atmosphere and a simulated respiratory tract, said system comprising: (a) a first pump comprising: (i) a chamber configured for containing a first volume of gas comprising a test atmosphere; (ii) a first port adapted for receiving and outputting gas and comprising a valve for regulating the flow of gas through the first port, said valve being moveable between open and closed positions, wherein in the open position said valve is openable towards a test atmosphere or surrounding air; (iii) a second port adapted for outputting and receiving gas and comprising a valve for regulating the flow of gas through the second port, said valve being moveable between open and closed positions; (iv) a piston plate in the chamber, said piston plate comprising one or more apertures for the uptake or inflow of gas into the chamber wherein one or more, or each, of the apertures include a valve that is movable between open and closed positions and is capable of regulating the uptake or inflow of gas; (b) a second pump comprising: (i) a chamber configured for containing a second volume of gas, wherein the first and second volumes of gas are different; (ii) a port adapted for receiving and outputting gas; and (iii) a motor for controlling the operation of the second pump; (c) a connecting structure operable to transmit the gas from the first pump into the second pump; and (d) one or more openings in the first pump or the second pump or the walls of the connecting structure or a combination of two or more thereof, said openings being capable of receiving a module for containing a cell culture medium or for monitoring conditions in the chamber or for gas sampling or for gas characterisation.

Simulated respiratory tract

An apparatus includes (i) a test chamber having an inlet and an outlet; (ii) an introduction system configured to introduce a test pollutant into the test chamber such that the test pollutant is entrained in air flowing from the inlet to the outlet; (iii) a support configured to retain the test article, wherein the support defines a passageway downstream of a location of the test article such that air flowing from the inlet to the outlet passes through the filter medium prior to entering the passageway; (iv) an air flow apparatus configured to draw air from within the test chamber through the passageway and the outlet; and (v) a respiratory conditions simulation system configured to simulate an aspect of respiration, an external environment simulation system configured to simulate an aspect of an external environment, or both the respiratory conditions simulation system and the external environment simulation system.

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Arch, Switzerland

Sandro Steiner