Battery Wake Mechanism for Sterile Surgical Device Readiness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Battery-powered medical devices often suffer from reduced functionality due to battery degradation during prolonged storage, leading to excessive downtime and costs, especially in sterile medical devices where batteries cannot be reliably verified or recharged without compromising sterility.
Innovation Solution
A mechanism to wake up medical tool batteries or battery packs from an inactive state using a switch, electrical circuit, trigger mechanism, pre-programmed timing, wireless activation, electromagnetic, or magnetic field, allowing for on-demand power activation while preserving charge and maintaining sterility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If batteries are kept in active state during storage, then devices can be used immediately, but battery charge degrades over time leading to insufficient power
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is pre-charged to full capacity before sterilization and sealed in the sterile package. This preliminary charging action ensures the battery has sufficient charge stored before use, eliminating the need for recharging while maintaining sterility. The battery undergoes preliminary maintenance (charging) before being put into storage, resolving the contradiction between immediate usability and charge preservation.
2Reliability
If batteries are sterilized separately from devices, then sterility is maintained, but battery charge cannot be verified
Solution Approach 1:
The battery and sterile device are combined into a single sterile package as an integrated assembly. This merging allows the battery to be sterilized together with the device, maintaining sterility assurance while enabling charge verification through the device's battery indicators. The combined approach eliminates the need to separate the battery for sterilization, allowing both sterility and charge status to be confirmed simultaneously.
3Productivity
If batteries are pre-charged in sterile packages, then devices are ready for immediate use, but shelf life is limited by battery discharge
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is pre-charged to full capacity before sealing in the sterile package, performing the charging action in advance. This preliminary action ensures maximum charge is stored before storage begins, extending the effective shelf life while maintaining immediate usability upon package opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent describes a single-use system where the battery is designed for one complete charge cycle from the pre-charged state. Rather than attempting to maintain the battery for multiple uses, the system accepts limited shelf life in exchange for ensuring full charge availability at the time of use, then the entire unit is disposed of after one use, eliminating the need for recharging or long-term maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
A mechanism configured for use in a medical device, to wake a medical grade battery or medical grade battery pack from an inactive state may comprise a switch, an electrical circuit activated by a trigger mechanism, a pre-programmed timing event mechanism incorporated within the circuitry of the medical device or the battery or the battery pack itself, a wireless activation mechanism, an electromagnetic field mechanism, a magnetic field mechanism or a combination thereof, wherein said battery or the battery pack had been placed in an inactive state to preserve a battery charge until on-demand power levels were needed and the battery or the battery pack is re-activated or awakened when the wake mechanism is activated by an end user. A medical device and methods of use comprising mechanisms to wake a medical grade battery or medical grade battery pack from an inactive state to an active, normal or “on” mode.