Have you ever watched a child puzzle over how to get the square peg in their hand into that round hole? Being a battery original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can often raise the same quandary. However, rather than simply hammering the square peg in as it is, OEM designers take the opportunity to get innovative.
Whether it is a POS (Point of Sale) machine used in a restaurant or high-tech night-vision goggles, portable electronics invade every aspect of our personal and professional lives. Engineers, scientists, restaurant staff, delivery operatives and Doctors all use portable electronic equipment to keep the world turning. The common denominator in all of these devices is the requirement for a safe and reliable battery system.
Battery specialist Accutronics has upgraded its Staffordshire test facility with a new range of specialist battery testing equipment. The new Maccor model 4200 multifunction desktop cabinet and separate floor-standing temperature chamber rigorously tests batteries for applications ranging from portable instrumentation and medical devices to robotics and defence.
When transporting any battery it's very important that the positive and negative terminals are insulated to avoid short circuits, but when transporting Lithium ion batteries this requirement is
written into the regulations and anyone offering these batteries for transport must ensure that the terminals are correctly insulated.
The rechargeable battery industry isn't known for its gadgets but this Smart Battery Reader is a gadget which becomes invaluable once you have one.
Every year in Louisville, Kentucky, hackers and security experts gather for DerbyCon. While a get-together of hackers may sound troubling on its own, what’s truly disturbing is what came out of last year’s conference. Medical cyber crime is on the rise, and there are thousands of critical medical devices which can currently be located online and hacked directly.
Accutronics has released a one-page guide about the safe transportation of lithium-ion batteries. Targeted at original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the medical, defence and instrumentation sectors, the guide offers five quick steps to ensuring that batteries meet international standards of design, assembly and testing before being packed for shipment.
As well as new changes coming into force from 1 April in relation to the State of Charge (SoC) of batteries transported by plane, the guide also highlights IEC standards, UN testing regulations and special provisions required before batteries can be shipped by plane.
The rise in demand for smaller, more portable devices that require a lot of battery power has resulted in more compact and energy-dense batteries. Customers in industries including medical, healthcare, security, defence and instrumentation are increasingly using feature-laden devices with power hungry features including colour touchscreens, GPS antennas and Wi-Fi radios, more powerful processors and onboard storage.
It can be a challenge to navigate the maze of regulations, for example, batteries in medical applications must meet the requirements of IEC safety testing in addition to the mandatory transportation testing. With the high volume of batteries now being shipped by plane globally, it is important that businesses offering batteries for transport are aware of their responsibilities.
Researchers at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, USA, recently developed a small piece of hardware that enables medical devices to securely connect to WiFi networks. Due to its wand-like appearance, the system has been dubbed the magic wand of MedTech.
Unfortunately, there is little that is magical about the device. While it does address the problem the medical technology (MedTech) and healthcare sectors are facing in regards to cybercrime, there is much more that needs to be done to secure medical hardware.
For heavy users of batteries the need to charge them is paramount.
The debate surrounding the rise in mobile medical devices safety continues to grow as technology advances. One concern is that the increased reliance on electronic devices to monitor and treat our health becomes dangerous if those very devices become unsafe or unreliable to use. Here, we explore the security and safety of batteries used in critical medical equipment going forward.
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