When you’re in a hospital, batteries aren’t exactly at the forefront of your concerns but without them we would face many barriers. Think about all the battery-run equipment required to facilitate urgent care: heart monitors, defibrillators, blood analyzers, thermometers infusion pumps just to name a few.
Hospitals require uninterrupted power sources. In cases of power outages, they are equipped with vital backup power for critical equipment such as operating theatres and intensive care systems.
The U.S. market for medical devices generates $180 billion in revenue. That is the largest in the world according to the 2017 Global Market for Medical Devices report. Equipment manufacturers continuously encounter issues when it comes to portable, battery-powered devices. Battery chemistry, discharge profiles and the effects of aging batteries are problems that require upkeep.
Battery Chemistry:
Devices like ventilators, dialysis systems, and anaesthesia machines are powered by the main AC supply. This means the battery receives a shallow discharge before being charged again. Sealed lead acid and valve-regulated lead acid maintain one basic flaw: a rise in their internal resistance.
This means that as the internal resistance increases, the sudden need for power can draw a lot of power, causing a drop in voltage. This isn’t exactly a good thing; in fact, it can be quite troublesome. The most common mistake manufacturers make when matching batteries to devices is not selecting batteries that have an internal resistance that is appropriate to the load.
Fast Charging:
Peak charging rate in a lithium-ion battery cell will decline after a large number of high-rate charging sessions. This is because of the physical and chemical changes occurring inside of the battery cells. It is best to charge a battery at the lowest current that a user can tolerate. Then only recharge it when the remaining capacity has dropped to a level at which it cannot deliver useful power.
In the case of portable dialysis machines that travel with users in the hospital, the unit should be able to quickly recharge rather than reducing the quality of care for the patient.
One large hospital purchases 97,000 batteries. They also dispose those batteries, leading to concerns regarding recycling programs. Most hospitals dispose batteries with regular trash, risking both human and environmental health because of heavy metals. Metals like nickel, cadmium, mercury, and lead that we release into the environment.
How Hospitals Should Deal with Batteries:
Hospitals need to develop battery-recycling programs. Sure, their priorities are saving lives. But it isn’t doing anyone a favour by releasing humans back into a toxic environment. That’s like swapping one problem for another.
Environmental goals and targets should be mandated into hospital policies. Strategies to minimize cost, educate staff, and ways of complying with regulatory compliance. An important step in developing effective battery recycling programs is to first assess the number of batteries used in each hospital.
According to the AAMI Association, battery maintenance is one of the top problems facing biomedical engineer technicians. Batteries in portable medical equipment are crucial in developing patient care.
Making Battery Recycling a Priority:
To determine program success, hospitals should assess the pounds of batteries recycled, patterns in battery purchasing, as well as the location of waste recycling facilities. Often, a facility’s hazardous waste vendor will make an agreement with the hospital to remove the batteries. Additionally, many hospitals team up with vendors who recycle their batteries for free such as the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.
Related:
The Role of Batteries in Ambulances
