On July 18, 2017, Cadex Electronics Founder & CEO Isidor Buchmann attended an invitation only 30-attendee panel on lithium-ion battery safety in Healthcare held at the AAMI headquarters located in the business district of Arlington, VA. The discussion was led by Joe Lewelling of AAMI and moderated by Jake Kyprianou and Hamed Ghods from the FDA.

A key point discussed in this meeting was the occurrence of high capacity lithium-ion battery fires and explosions in hospital portable workstations, otherwise known as COWs (Computers On Wheels). During the session it was acknowledged that there is a general knowledge gap when it comes to batteries in healthcare and in the medical workplace. Most hospitals do not have proper risk-reduction procedures in place, and staff are not properly trained in the occurrence of battery failure. Hospitals prioritize battery cost-saving methods, and often neglect to follow procedures such as battery date stamping or the use of battery analyzers.

Mr. Buchmann presented his white paper titled “Assuring Safety of Lithium-ion in the Workforce” to the assembled group. The paper, which explains that the regulatory process ends when a battery is new and that there is no accepted standard for assessing the safety of batteries as they degrade with use, registers concerns as often do not show outward signs of defect. He stresses that instead of relying on the pre-approval phase of battery certification for surety during the battery’s life cycle, an ongoing preventative battery maintenance system should be implemented in the hospital.

Mr. Buchmann describes, in detail, about the ongoing safety issues with Li-on batteries. In part of his white paper In particular he writes:

“There are two types of Li-ion failures. One involves a design or manufacturing flaw in which the failure repeats itself at a predictable rate and often involves a recall; the Samsung Galaxy 7 smartphones in 2016 and the Sony laptop batteries in 2006 are examples. The most difficult failures are random events. These may be caused by repeated charging at sub-freezing temperature, harsh loading or excessive vibration.”

To conclude, Mr. Buchmann provides simple analogies to ensure understanding of a complex subject, as well as potential solutions whereby battery chargers are enhanced with the ability to monitor, examine, and diagnose battery state of health on an ongoing basis.

Click the button below to read the full white paper written by Isidor Buchmann, Founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics. 

• AAMI
• Battery