Chameleon

Critical medical support devices including ventilators and patient monitors require a battery,
serving either as a primary source of power or as back up in the event of mains electricity
failure. Medical devices are generally characterised as having long development cycles with
manufacturers slow to adopt new technologies. Product life cycles tend to be long so
manufacturers can recoup high development costs and health authorities cannot afford to
renew equipment regularly. Against this backdrop, a large number of medical devices use outdated
environmentally unacceptable battery chemistries and technologies which lack the
battery features (such as rapid charging, high discharge capacity, fuel gauging and
lightweight) consumers enjoy with mobile phones, cordless power-tools and laptop
computers.
There are sound economic and social benefits for removing patients from hospital and treating
them in their own homes or in community care. The portability of medical equipment is often
limited due to the size, weight and output of their battery technology. Medical OEMs are
reluctant to make the considerable investment required to design, tool and qualify a
customised battery due to their modest production volumes – they therefore use what is
available on the open market with the compromises this entails.
Following the successful completion (March 2014) of the ‘Proof of Concept’ project,
Accutronics propose to develop a novel prototype battery system utilising the latest high
capacity, high rate, rechargeable cell technology, coupled with state of the art electronic
systems allowing safe and efficient charge management along and accurate fuel gauging
technology. The system will be configurable in both electrical output and mechanical
arrangement to satisfy the needs of multiple medical OEMs who are looking to develop the
next generation of medical equipment. The system will be qualified to the latest international
standards required for batteries in medical devices.