SPIRIVA HandiHaler



Research into competing products based on the development route we have specified (preventative, re-usable) has uncovered some well designed products that meet our specification. It may be possible to pull design aspects from these in order to make improvements to the Accuhaler.

SPIRIVA HandiHaler
The HandiHaler is another disk-style dry powder inhaler that dispenses SPIRIVA, a once-a-day preventative medicine. In contrast to the 60-dose loading of the Accuhaler, the HandiHaler requires loading of individual capsules for each days use. This obviously shows the Accuhaler's relative suitability for reliever medicine as well as preventative. It is however a good example of how the user can easily reload the medicine themselves, so is a very good source of inspiration for our redesign.

Function
The HandiHaler has two main design aspects that may be of interest to us, not including the fact that the overall disk-like design is similar to that of the Accuhaler:
 * 1) It is refilliable (on a dialy basis). We could apply a similar access method in order to refill the Accuhaler on a monthly basis.
 * 2) It is cleanable, however it does require 24 hours to air dry. Cleanability is obviously crucial for a reusable product that is in frequent contact with the mouth. The cleaning process is as follows (from http://www.spiriva.com/about-spiriva/using-spiriva.html):