Portable Power Considerations for Medical Device Design

Many medical devices are moving from simple back-up power to true portability. This creates challenges unique to medical devices and adds new advances in battery technology that can enhance and differentiate portable medical products.

This white paper will look at the following advances in portable battery technology and the special considerations for medical device applications:

• Lithium Ion (Li-ion) chemistries' advantages over older technology
• Fuel gauging accuracy
• Unique form factors using Li-Polymer
• Use of Lithium Iron Phosphate for high current and Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) replacement
• Sterilization of Li-ion for surgical equipment

Micro Power Electronics specializes in the design and manufacture of lithium battery packs and chargers for mission-critical applications, such as medical equipment. As a technology integrator, we choose the best components for a given set of design constraints and usage models and design each custom battery pack from the ground up.

Long Life Phosphate Technology - IronWorks Battery

Manufacturers of mobile equipment can achieve lighter weight, longer runtime, faster charge time and longer shelf-life over older SLA batteries with the new patent pending ithium Iron Phosphate battery technology from Micro Power. The state of the art IronWorks battery yields a longer runtime at about half the weight of similarly rated SLA batteries. This solution is a direct replacement for SLA batteries. Maintenance time and costs are reduced, resulting in a far lower total cost of ownership over the lifetime of an IronWorks battery. In addition, this battery is based on the safest and most environmentally friendly chemistry available on the market today.

Powering Rugged, Portable Devices With Lithium-Ion Batteries

Rugged handheld devices like military radios, handheld GPSs, portable computers and PDAs, demand more power and have some of the toughest environmental requirements. MIL-STD-810, a common environmental qualification standard, provides mechanical and electrical design challenges for battery packs and portable devices. Download this white paper from Micro Power to learn how to address the toughest performance and environmental challenges, including performance at -40 and +70 degrees C, 1000+ cycles, high current discharge, and higher degrees of safety.

Building Battery Arrays with Lithium-Ion Cells

The reasons that many applications have a need for high cell count Li-ion battery packs are many. Large scale arrays based on Li-ion batteries can provide the high voltage, current, and capacity required by many emerging portable markets; however, there are numerous problems facing the designers of larger battery packs including the issues around cell imbalance. Here Micro Power outlines the techniques for achieving high voltage or capacity by building high cell count arrays.

Using Lithium Polymer Batteries In Portable Devices

Lithium polymer batteries have become common in single-cell consumer applications like cell phones and MP3 players, but industrial and commercial applications are now putting them to good use as well. The thin and custom shaped cells are now used in large, complex packs. This white paper is an overview of the advantages, disadvantages and guidelines for using Lithium polymer based battery packs. It looks at Lithium polymer cells versus metal-cased cylindrical and prismatic Li-ion cells and gives a brief description of battery pack construction considerations.