Wearable Cardiac Battery Detachment Alerts for Swap Reliability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Patients with heart conditions may forget to properly swap and charge batteries in wearable cardiac monitoring and treatment devices, leading to potential device malfunction and life-threatening situations due to insufficient power for treatments like defibrillation shocks.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating detachment circuitry and alarm circuitry in the battery, battery charger, and medical device to detect improper battery insertion or removal and provide audible or tactile alerts to ensure correct battery placement and charging.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If patients manually swap and charge batteries in wearable cardiac devices, then the device can be powered continuously, but patients may forget to properly swap and charge batteries leading to device malfunction

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice functionalityVSAvoidbattery swapping process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system provides real-time feedback to patients through audible and tactile alerts when a battery is removed from the device or charger. The detachment circuitry monitors battery connections and triggers alarms to remind patients to complete the battery swapping and charging process, ensuring continuous device functionality without requiring complex patient memory or attention.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If battery detachment detection circuitry is added to the device, then battery swapping errors are reduced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebattery managementVSAvoidcircuitry configuration

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The battery management system is segmented into independent functional modules: detachment circuitry in the wearable device, separate detachment circuitry in the battery charger, and alarm circuitry in the battery pack. This modular segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function with simple circuitry, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable battery management through coordinated operation of the segments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3800717B1Systems for providing an alert indicating battery removal from a wearable medical device

Publication Date: 2025.12.10 ZOLL MEDICAL CORPORATION

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AI summary

An externally worn cardiac monitoring and/or treatment system with battery detachment detection is provided. The system includes detachment circuitry and audible and/or vibrational alarm circuitry operably coupled to the detachment circuitry. The detachment circuitry is configured to detect whether the rechargeable battery is detached from the battery-powered externally worn cardiac device by monitoring a connection established between the rechargeable battery and the at least one processor and output a battery status signal indicating whether the rechargeable battery is detached from the battery-powered externally worn cardiac device. The audible and/or vibrational alarm circuitry is configured to receive the battery status signal and output an audible alert in a predetermined frequency range and/or a tactile alert if the rechargeable battery is detached.