Wearable Cardiac Battery Detachment Detection With Alarm Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with wearable cardiac monitoring and treatment devices often forget to properly swap and charge batteries, leading to potential life-threatening situations due to inadequate power for continuous operation, especially in devices requiring therapeutic shocks.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating detachment circuitry and alarm circuitry in the rechargeable battery, battery charger, and medical device controller to monitor battery attachment and provide audible and vibrational alerts if the battery is not properly inserted or charged, ensuring timely replacement and charging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If patients manually track and swap batteries without automated monitoring, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to forgotten battery swaps
Solution Approach 1:
The battery monitoring system enables the battery pack to self-report its status (attached/detached/charging) to the medical device controller automatically, eliminating the need for patient manual tracking and ensuring reliable operation without increasing operational complexity for the user
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where detachment circuitry monitors battery attachment status, charging circuitry monitors charging status, and the controller receives real-time updates to alert patients of improper battery handling, ensuring reliable operation through automated monitoring
2Reliability
If detachment circuitry and alarm circuitry are added to monitor battery status, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into distinct functional modules: detachment circuitry for attachment monitoring, charging circuitry for charging status monitoring, and alarm circuitry for patient notification, allowing each component to perform its specific function with minimal complexity while collectively providing comprehensive monitoring
Solution Approach 2:
The controller serves multiple functions: it manages the detachable battery operation, processes ECG signals, controls alarm outputs, and coordinates with the charging device, consolidating multiple functions into a single component to avoid increasing overall system complexity
3Loss of information
If real-time battery status monitoring is implemented, then loss of information is reduced, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detachment circuitry and charging circuitry perform monitoring at periodic intervals rather than continuously, checking battery attachment and charging status at appropriate moments to provide accurate information while minimizing power consumption during monitoring operations
Data Source
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.