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Guidelines For Battery Packs For Medical Equipment

By Deborah Roberts


Medicine has greatly benefited from cell innovations. Battery packs for medical equipment are meant to ease portability. They are also meant to act as backup power sources. In remote areas, they come in handy as some tests and life-saving procedures can be done en route to the hospital or nearest facility. They also come in handy in war and travel. Picking the right one can be tricky especially without guidance. Even with guidance, one should know what the professional is talking about.

Though not very common in medicine, the Zinc-air is one type of cell used to run such devices. The science is actually quite smart and therefore makes the production cost very low. For that reason, this could very well be the cheapest option. The cells pull oxygen from the air and oxidize the zinc in there. The only issue is that it has a short life.

With a longer shelf and charge life is the lithium iodide cell. This is more expensive. It is also quite commonly used in medicine. It may be considered by some as the standard. A third but fading type is the Nickel Cadmium cell. This is being phased out as better options are discovered. Except of course in situations where it is absolutely necessary to use this.

An expert might talk about chemistry. This will determine a lot about the use and longevity of such cells. One will probably hear about something called internal resistance. This may rise over time causing the device to draw more power than needed. The batteries will then heat up and energy will be wasted. Therefore, ask if the internal resistance of the cell has been matched up to the load requirement of a device.

Any cell regardless of where or how it is used works best at room temperature. Some advice that a higher ambient temp is ideal. It may be. Though the positive effect is only short term. In the long term, the cell structure is compromised and life is shortened.

Ever had two different phones that charged at completely different speeds? One will be all filled up and ready to go within an hour. The other will take up to four hours to get to 100%. The same is true for these kinds of cells. Fast charging is good until the consequent chemical and physical changes cause a decrease in performance in the long term.

Away from the complicated stuff, look for battery life. This is the period during which the cells can run the device before requiring a recharge. It is always better to go with the highest charge life. Who knows what situations will come up? It would be very sad to lose a patient because the charge ran out.

Some cells do not require manual charging. Especially those that are only in place as backup power sources. If the batteries require manual charging, someone should have the responsibility to ensure they remain fully charged at all times. The same person should ensure to keep extras.




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