A lot of hospital equipment runs on batteries. Heavy devices are cart-mounted so they can be rolled to wherever needed. Fresh batteries for them and hand-portable devices are often swapped for drained ones. But are the drained batteries worth charging? And if a particular battery is in immediate need, is it charged enough to be useful?

A recent series of chargers and monitors assist in making sure batteries for a range of systems are fully charged and inform technicians responsible for equipment that the batteries indeed have useful life or should be tossed into the recycling bin.

The dc voltage power management system, from Shurite Systems, a division of Prime Technology LLC, North Branford, Conn., (primetechnology.com) is said to combine intelligent monitoring, charging, and power management. “A dc-power monitor provides the power-source information required in a mobile working and computing environment,” says Shurite Application Engineer John Bourgoin. “The monitor also provides diagnostics for troubleshooting and evaluating warranty claims for the cart and equipment manufacturer as well as scheduling power supply and battery maintenance.”

The dc charger features built in A/D inputs that monitor and control battery charging voltage and current, while also compensating for load current during charge. The charger communicates with the dc-power monitor and sends data for user evaluation to the monitor by USB port. A computer program supplied with the monitor provides this data to a technician in an understandable and usable format. This information let's technicians track when a battery was charged, for how long, and so on.

The monitor does this by generating event-log spreadsheets along with charge and discharge curves. These event logs are useful for tracking a battery system's history and making changes to how long and often a product gets used. “The charger and monitor use specific curves from battery manufacturers for various battery sizes and chemistries. This helps prolong the duration of battery systems by accurately predicting the life of the battery and charge time. The system can also be adapted for use with any power platform,” adds Bourgoin.

Three stages of the Shurite Systems battery charger work together to charge, balance, and maintain a charge at all times. The first stage rapidly charges a battery to full capacity while the second stage ensures all cells are equally charged. The last stage maintains the charge to ensure the prolonged use of the equipment powered by the battery. The system can also troubleshoot potential problems and unexpected charge loss.

A microprocessor controls the charger so it delivers charge by following an appropriate profile with 20 A to batteries of various chemistries. “Algorithms that monitor battery charge can be designed for a particular chemistry as well as each battery manufacturer's features,” says Bourgoin. “In addition, the charger and monitor are UL60601 approved for medical applications.”