Batteries for Medical Applications

For some medical treatments, a battery is required to provide consistently reliable performance over a long duration. For medical applications, battery longevity ranging from two to five years is the principal requirement for optimum economy. 

One of the most notable drug-delivery methods is the insulin pump using microelectronic circuits and microfluidic MEMS technology. This miniaturized insulin pump can be mounted on a disposal skin patch to provide continuous 

Scientists at Xen Biosdences and Cambridge Consultants are jointly developing a compact, modem-size device that deploys time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) spectroscopy technology. This device can be used to perform tests for up to 20 different ailments, enabling the physician to make rapid decisions with minimum cost and complexity. According to the device designer, the power requirements will be less than 100 milliwatts, which can be satisfied by low-power Li-ion batteries 

A pocket-size or palm-size cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) device was developed a few decades ago to initiate the critical rescue steps needed to revive someone from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). This device has been recognized as the most effective life-saving device and has been approved by the FDA for over-the-counter sales. A low-power, coin-shaped Li-ion battery, which has demonstrated utmost safety, reliability, and operation over wide temperatures, will be able to power this pocket-size SCA device. 

Miniature hearing devices are widely used by the elderly. According to audiologists, miniature hearing devices can be placed deep inside the ear canal as a semipermanent device. The person can wear this device for four to six months at a time. If needed, the audiologist can remove the device, replace the tiny lithium-based 

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Takeuchi ES, Leising RA, Spillman DM, Rubino R, Gan H, Takeuchi KJ, Marschilok AC (2004) Lithium batteries for medical applications, hi Nazii G-A, Pistoia G (eds) Lithium batteries science and technology. BQuwer, Boston, pp 686-700 Untereker DF, Crespi AM, Rorvick A, Schmidt CL, Skarstad PM (2007) Power systems for implantable pacemakers, cardioverters, and defibrillators. In Ellenbogtai KA, Kay GN, Lau C-P, Wilkoff BL (eds) Clinical cardiac pacing and defibrillation, 3rd edn. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 235-259... 

Primary Batteries for Medical Applications, Fig. 1 Ragone plots of medium (MR) and high-rate (HR) hybrid chemistries compared to SVO and l2-based battery systems ... 

Primary Batteries for Medical Applications, Table 1 applications in implanted medical devices Summary of primary lithium battery characteristics and their ... 

Primary Batteries for Medical Applications, Fig. 3 (a) Cross section view of a coiled electrode configuration used in high-rate designs (b) assembly view of a coiled electrode configuration in insulator and battray case, showing attachment in the headspace (Reprinted from Ref. [7], Copyright (2001), with permission frinn Elsevier)... 

Use of predictive modeling can be expected to play an increasing role in the design and development phases of batteries for medical applications. Development of accelerated testing protocols and use of accelerated degradation models may become more prevalent to ensure highest levels of reliability in design and operation of batteries. 

High-power implantable batteries have been developed for possible applications in pacemakers, automatic defibrillation devices, and other medical diagnostic sensors. Such cells will be described in great detail in Section 5.4, Batteries for Medical Applications. 

Many polymer-polymer complexes can be obtained by template polymerization. Applications of polyelectrolyte complexes are in membranes, battery separators, biomedical materials, etc. It can be predicted that the potential application of template polymerization products is in obtaining membranes with a better ordered structure than it is possible to obtain by mixing the components. The examples of such membranes from crosslinked polyCethylene glycol) and polyCacrylic acid) were described by Nishi and Kotaka. The membranes can be used as so-called chemical valves for medical applications. The membranes are permeable or impermeable for bioactive substances, depending on pH. 

Solution-cast film is produced on a larger scale for medical applications, battery separators, or other specialty uses with machinery of the type shown in Figure 3.2 [2], Viscous film is made by this technique. The solution is cast onto the surface of a rotating drum or a continuous polished stainless steel belt. These machines are generally enclosed to control water vapor pickup by the film as it dries and to minimize solvent vapor losses to the atmosphere. 

Explains signal transduction processes and related biology, biochemistry, and cell biology in a way that is accessible to chemists Provides detailed descriptions of vanadium batteries Describes recent advances in the applications of the lithium/silver vanadium oxide battery, particularly for medical applications... 

Other primary cells are also used as batteries for certain applications. In some instances, the battery must be quite small. For a medical device, such as a heart pacemaker, a battery should not only be small, but long lasting. Mercury batteries have come to fill this role. In the mercury battery, shown in Figure 13.14, zinc is the anode as in the alkaline dry cell ... 

In this entry are discussed a few of the specialized batteries for medical devices that are portable or wearable (carried with the patient, like hearing aids), or implantable (surgically placed inside the body as with neurostimulation pain management devices). There is a focus on the batteries designed for a few of the more common applications - implantable cardiac rhythm management (cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators), pain management, and hearing loss devices. 

Lithium batteries based on organic solvents are now made on a large scale for medical applications, back up power for computer memories, power for small electronic gadgets and the general consumer market Batteries based on four types of positive electrode (intercalation into Mn02, reduction of poly (carbon monofluoride), cupric oxide and silver chromate) are listed in Table 11.7 note that the exact solvent-electrolyte ts not specified because their selection is considered conlidential The exact composition may also vary from company to company. AH these batteries give performances markedly better than the traditional batteries (Table f 1.8). The better performance, however, is obtained... 

Lithium-iodine (Li-Ij) batteries were specifically designed and developed for medical applications. These batteries consistently demonstrated the best performance and suitability, particularly for pacemakers, over a period exceeding 25 years. This particular battery is high in energy density but low in power level. Li-Ij is a low-conductivity solid-state electrolyte, which limits the current to a few microamperes. According to the manufactures, an operational life ranging from 7 to 12 years for this battery has been demonstrated in the field. The battery suppliers claim that these batteries could be used in other applications, such as watches and memory-retention devices. 

Preliminary studies undertaken by the author on the batteries required for medical applications and other medical diagnostic procedures reveal that these batteries must meet stringent performance specifications, such as accuracy, dependability, portability, reliability, and long service life. This section describes the performance... 

E. S. Takeuchi, Lithium/Solid Cathode Cells for Medical Applications, Proc. Int. Battery Seminar,... 

All the currently available Li/I2 batteries have a nominal capacity of 15 Ah or less, and most have deliverable capacities under 5 Ah. All the Li/l2 batteries intended for medical applications are designed to be cathode-limited. 

Another case-positive cell type has been used for medical applications. This unit is very similar to the other case-positive designs, but the cathode is not poured into the battery can. The iodine and P2VP are pelletized and then pressed onto the central anode assembly. After the pressing operation, the entire unit is slipped into a nickel can. An exploded view of this cell is shown in Fig. 15.10. 

Manufacturers keep detailed records of the construction and manufacture of each battery intended for medical applications and each unit is individually serialized. This procedure allows the systematic tracing of the history and behavior of every battery, should the need arise. 

SAN is widely used. Industrial uses include dials, switches, lenses, knobs, and battery cases. Medical applications include dental and medical light diffusers. Within the electrical and electronics area, it is used for CD players, aid conditioner impellers, meter covers, telephone components, and radios. Among consumer products are toothbrush handles, cassette cases, disposable lighters, cosmetic containers, mixers, juicers, and clothes hangers. 

These materials are introduced in Chapter 5 and only brief mention of them is necessary here. It is important to appreciate that polymer electrolytes, which consist of salts, e.g. Nal, dissolved in solid cation coordinating polymers, e.g. (CH2CH20) , conduct by quite a different mechanism from crystalline or glass electrolytes. Ion transport in polymers relies on the dynamics of the framework (i.e. the polymer chains) in contrast to hopping within a rigid framework. Intense efforts are being made to make use of these materials as electrolytes in all solid state lithium batteries for both microelectronic medical and vehicle traction applications. 

The book starts with a series of general chapters on membrane preparation, transport theory, and concentration polarization. Thereafter, each major membrane application is treated in a single 20-to-40-page chapter. In a book of this size it is impossible to describe every membrane process in detail, but the major processes are covered. However, medical applications have been short-changed somewhat and some applications—fuel cell and battery separators and membrane sensors, for example—are not covered at all. 

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