Smart battery aids peace of mind in A&E

The medical market is a challenging environment: with people's lives on the line it is essential that medical practitioners can rely on their equipment to perform under pressure. The rise in the use of portable devices such as acute ventilators, anaesthesia workstations and intra-oral scanners over the last twelve months has left many medical OEMs struggling to keep pace in the market.

The battery is available in three versions, using eight, twelve or sixteen '18650' sized cells, with continuous discharge rates of up to 300W. Two voltage platforms are used; 28.8V, which operates between 20.0 and 33.6V and 14.4V, which operates between 10.0 and 16.8V.

Smart features of the CMX series include active and passive protection circuits that prevent over-temperature, over and under-voltage, overload and short circuit.

Forming an essential part of its medical device operation, smart power management means the battery only requests charge when needed and shuts down when not in use. Accurate fuel gauging to 1% is possible through an LCD display, further enhancing reliability. The battery complies with the relevant transport regulation, which exists to eliminate the risk of explosion associated with the transport of such energy dense cargo.

The CMX series complies with transportation (UN 38.3) and safety (UL2054 2nd ed. and IEC61233:2012) as well as electromagnetic compatibility regulations (CE and FCC). The range charges between 0 and +40°C, discharges between -10 and +50°C and can be stored between -20 and +60°C. This results in 500 cycles of 80% minimum rated capacity.

Hospitals can perform routine power management checks without having to remove the medical device from service, using the smart charger that accompanies the CMX battery. A single charger can be used for different sized batteries, because the two devices automatically communicate exact voltage requirements. For customer convenience, two chargers are available to accompany the CMX series, an internal single channel charger and an external dual bay desktop charger, which can also be used for battery calibration.

The Entellion range offers customisation options including product labelling, case colours, software setup and SHA-1 algorithmic security, which prevents counterfeit batteries being used under fraudulent warranty claims.

“Part of our branded Entellion range, the CMX meets stringent regulations, demanding development schedules and innovation aims, whilst minimising unit costs,” explained Neil Oliver, technical marketing manager at Accutronics.