Marijuana Inhaler is High on 3D Printing

3D printing played a key role in the development of what could be a revolutionary medical marijuana inhaler. The Syqe Inhaler was developed in Israel with help from Stratasys.

The Syqe Inhaler has been described in the medical press as effective, stable and easy to use, and could potentially help make the use of medical marijuana more acceptable to providers and insurers.

The inhaler uses sensors to determine dosage, and allows physicians to more easily supervise use of the drug while making it easier for patients to get the right does without becoming inebriated. The pocket-sized device includes selective 100 microgram dosing precision, real-time thermal and flow controllers, and wireless connectivity. There’s also a hospital version (the Syqe Inhaler Exo) for professionals and clinics.

The company used Stratasys Objet 30 Pro, Connex3, Objet Eden260v and MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printers to create prototypes and the initial working models of the devices.

“With a Stratasys 3D printer, they were able to print out a prototype in the morning and have a complete model when they returned from lunch,” said Ronny Eden, director of 3D printing technologies for Su-Pad, a Stratasys distributor in Israel. He talked about the inhaler at BioMed 2015. “If they had gone the traditional route of building prototypes, it would have taken them months to get off the ground, and for a start-up that’s next to impossible. Everyone who has seen this device has been very impressed, and we’re proud to be associated with them.”

The company used 3D printers to create roughly 75% of the parts for the initial devices. Syqe planned to use traditional manufacturing methods once full-scale production began, but indicated that some components would still be produced using the printers.

Source: The Times of Israel