Did This Get Lost In The Covids?
In October 2019, I wrote Asthma Carbon Footprint ‘As Big As Eating Meat’ and it made me think, when I just read it.
I would normally follow up a post like this, but I don’t remember doing anything like that.
The Wikipedia entry for the COVID-19 pandemic in England, starts with this paragraph.
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020.
It looks to me, that like everybody else in England, I had the Covids on my mind.
Is Respimat A Zero-Carbon Inhaler?
Just to be sure, I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.
The Respimat soft mist inhaler is considered to have virtually no associated carbon emissions from its operation because it does not contain the high global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) propellants found in metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs).
While it has a substantially lower carbon footprint than traditional pMDIs, it is not strictly “zero-carbon” when considering its entire life cycle, which includes manufacturing, materials (stainless steel, aluminium, polymers), and end-of-life disposal. These factors contribute a small product carbon footprint (PCF).
According to Google AI, a reusable version is available.
A reusable Respimat device has been introduced, which further reduces the carbon footprint by up to 71% over six months compared to the disposable version because the device itself is kept longer, reducing manufacturing impacts.
Google AI says this about NHS guidance.
Health bodies like the NHS encourage the use of lower-carbon inhalers like the Respimat or dry powder inhalers (DPIs) as part of their net-zero targets, provided they are clinically appropriate for the patient.
But it does seem that Respimat devices are helping to cut global warming.
What Is The Patient Experience Of Respimat?
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
Patient experience with the Respimat inhaler is generally very positive, with high satisfaction for its ease of use, handling, and the “soft mist” it produces, leading to high continuation rates in studies; patients find it easier than many older devices and report good effectiveness, though common side effects like dry mouth, cough, and sore throat can occur.
Key Aspects of Patient Experience
- High Satisfaction: Over 85-90% of patients report being satisfied or very satisfied with the Respimat’s handling and the ease of inhaling the mist.
- Preference Over Other Devices: Many patients prefer Respimat over traditional metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) or dry powder inhalers (DPIs), finding it easier to use and more effective.
- Soft Mist Technology: Patients appreciate the gentle, slow-moving mist, which helps deliver medication effectively and feels different from a typical puff.
- Good Adherence: High satisfaction often translates to continued use, with physicians reporting high patient adherence and continuation rates after studies end.
- Improved Technique: While initial use might need guidance, pharmacist-led interventions show significant improvements in patients’ inhalation technique over time.
That doesn’t look bad to me!
Could Immunotherapy Drugs Be Delivered By An Inhaler?
We always felt the device could deliver other drugs.
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
Yes, immunotherapy drugs could potentially be delivered by an inhaler, and this approach is a promising area of active research and development, particularly for treating lung cancer and respiratory diseases like asthma.
Rationale and Research
- Targeted Treatment: Inhaled delivery allows for high concentrations of the drug to be delivered directly to the lungs, which is particularly beneficial for treating lung-specific conditions like lung cancer or severe asthma. This localized approach aims to maximize the therapeutic effect where needed.
- Reduced Side Effects: By concentrating the medication in the lungs and minimizing its systemic absorption into the bloodstream, researchers hope to significantly reduce the severe side effects (e.g., systemic toxicity, autoimmune reactions) commonly associated with traditional intravenous or oral administration of some immunotherapies and chemotherapies.
- Patient Convenience: Inhalation is a non-invasive administration route, which is more convenient and comfortable for patients compared to injections or intravenous infusions, potentially allowing for self-administration and improving patient compliance.
The Soft Mist Technology could surely be a help!
Was Osborne Reynolds The Greatest Fluid Dynamicist?
I have to ask Google AI this question, as some of the discussions that led to creation of Respimat, took place in my house at Debach, where Osborne Reynolds had lived.
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
Osborne Reynolds is considered one of the most influential and foundational contributors to the field of fluid dynamics, though naming a single person the “greatest” is subjective. His work fundamentally shaped modern engineering and physics and remains central to the study of fluid flow today.
Key Contributions to Fluid Dynamics
Reynolds’ most significant achievements include:
- The Reynolds Number: He identified a crucial dimensionless parameter (now named the Reynolds number) that determines whether fluid flow is laminar (smooth and orderly) or turbulent (chaotic and eddying). This number is a foundational concept used across all engineering and physical sciences.
- The Theory of Turbulence: In an 1895 paper, he established the standard mathematical framework used in the study of turbulence, introducing what is known as the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations.
- Experimental Validation: His elegant, yet simple, dye experiments visually demonstrated the transition between flow regimes, providing clear empirical evidence for his theories.
- Theory of Lubrication: He developed the Reynolds equation in 1886, which still underpins the analysis of hydrodynamic lubrication in modern bearings.
- Heat Transfer and Similitude: His research into heat transfer between solids and fluids led to significant improvements in boiler and condenser designs, and his work on hydraulic similitude enables engineers to use scaled-down models (e.g., in wind tunnels for aircraft design) to predict the performance of full-scale machines.
How Many Good Ideas Did The Covids Delay?
It could be that the roll-out of Respimat for was delayed by the Covids!
But it wouldn’t have been the only idea to have been delayed in that way!
The Aerosol Tales
When I left Liverpool University in 1968, I was very familiar with the use of products distributed in aerosol cans.
- I had used aerosol shaving cream, although about that time, I acquired my beard.
- I certainly used aerosol deodorant, as did most in the 1960s.
- Aerosol paints were common for covering scuffs and scratches in your car.
- Aerosols were often used to apply sun protection.
- Aerosols containing cream or a non-dairy alternative for culinary use were not unknown.
- Aweosol lubricants were starting to appear.
Although, I went to work for the chemical giant; ICI, at that time, I had no idea how an aerosol and its can worked.
As ICI at the time, ICI were major manufacturers of aerosol propellants, I quickly learned how they worked.
The Wikipedia entry for Aerosol Spray Dispenser gives a lot of history about aerosol cans and their propellants.
The Wikipedia entry for Propellant has this paragraph describing propellants of the last century.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were once often used as propellants, but since the Montreal Protocol came into force in 1989, they have been replaced in nearly every country due to the negative effects CFCs have on Earth’s ozone layer. The most common replacements of CFCs are mixtures of volatile hydrocarbons, typically propane, n-butane and isobutane. Dimethyl ether (DME) and methyl ethyl ether are also used. All these have the disadvantage of being flammable. Nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are also used as propellants to deliver foodstuffs (for example, whipped cream and cooking spray). Medicinal aerosols such as asthma inhalers use hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA): either HFA 134a (1,1,1,2,-tetrafluoroethane) or HFA 227 (1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane) or combinations of the two. More recently, liquid hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) propellants have become more widely adopted in aerosol systems due to their relatively low vapor pressure, low global warming potential (GWP), and nonflammability.
Note that the whole range of these chemicals, effect the ozone layer.
Rocksavage Works
ICI’s Rocksavage Works, was an integrated chemical plant by the Mersey,.
- It made all types of CFCs for aerosols and other purposes.
- It also made the fire suppressant and extinguisher; Bromochlorodifluoromethane or BCF.
- Alongside BCF, it made the anaesthetic Halothane or as ICI called it Fluothane.
- The plant was a poisonous place with all those bromine, chlorine and fluorine compounds.
- Despite this, the plant had a remarkable safety record.
I had the pleasure of working at the plant and it was where, I had most of my excellent Health and Safety training, from the amazing site foreman; Charlie Akers.
Some of the wisdom he distributed has proved invaluable in aiding my stroke recovery.
I suspect that since the signing of the Montreal Protocol, the plant has changed greatly or has even been closed.
All that appears to be left is the 800 MW gas-fired Rocksavage power station and a Facebook page.
Aerosol Baked Beans
In those days, I worked most of the time in a lab at Runcorn Heath.
One of the labs near to where I generally worked, in the large research complex, was a lab, where new aerosol products were developed and tested.
One of the standard jokes about that lab, was that they were working on aerosol baked beans. They said, they would develop the product, even of they had to eject them from the can one at a time.
Gift Time
One afternoon, the boss of the aerosol development lab came through with a tray of goodies.
On the tray, which was much like a cinema usherette’s ice cream tray of the sixties was a whole host of partly-labeled aerosol cans. Only clues to what the product might be were written on the outside in felt-tip pen.
I grabbed two, one of which was marked something like lubricating oil and the other was just marked hand cream, which I of course gave to my new wife; C.
We were married for nearly forty years and often, when she bought hand cream, she would remark, that it wasn’t of the same standard as the little can I brought home from work.
It appears to me, that one of the world’s top cosmetic companies and ICI were trying to create the world’s best and probably most expensive hand creams.
DMW
Fast-forward nearly twenty years and I was approached by Lloyds Bank about two individuals, who had developed an aerosol valve, that instead of using CFCs or other ozone-depleting chemicals.
- By the exploitation of the nether end of fluid dynamics, the propellant of the aerosol was nothing more harmless than pure nitrogen.
- I formed a company called DMW with the two inventors.
- John Gummer, who at the time was my MP and Environment Minister, knew of the aerosol valve and he took the details to Montreal.
So did a device developed in Suffolk help push through the Montreal Protocol?
Osbourne Reynolds
I also wonder, if we had some supernatural help. At the time, I lived in the family home of Osbourne Reynolds.
- He did a lot of the early work on fluid dynamics.
- He was the first UK Professor of Engineering.
- He was professor of Engineering at Manchester University for nearly forty years.
- The Reynolds number is named after him.
- Remarkably, students are sill taught on the equipment Reynolds designed.
- Reynolds was certainly one of our great Victorian scientists.
This Wikipedia entry gives more details of his remarkable life and work.
After Montreal the aerosol valve was sold to Johnson & Johnson.
DMW continued to develop other products and we had one, who no-one had any idea about how it worked.
So I discussed it with the Reynolds’s expert at Manchester University and he said he had no idea either.
But he was absolutely certain, that Reynolds would have known.
The Anonymous Widower 