The Challenge
A healthcare provider and manufacturer approached us needing a system to test and analyze the quality of their batteries procured for portable ventilators.
The Solution
Using a PXI data acquisition platform, we programmatically defined a series of tests to characterize and analyze the quality of our customer’s batteries.
Background
Medical device providers design portable ventilators with the expectation that their product will provide field use for various patient scenarios. There is no room for a lack of device performance as the consequences can be critical. Along these lines, our customer discovered device performance issues regarding the capacity (amount of charge) their outsourced batteries provided. The Lithium-Ion batteries were holding a much lesser charge than their specifications promised.
Left: PXI data acquisition platform, Right: BatteryFlex LabVIEW user interface (UI) showing live test data.
To ensure their ventilator battery’s premium function, our customer began testing individual batteries before they were deployed into their product. During this process, they recognized the difficulty of acquiring the high-accuracy voltage and current measurements that these battery tests require and doing so in an efficient process. This is where our team’s reference design, BatteryFlex, provided value through test automation. With the ability to perform multiple tests on multiple batteries simultaneously we have significantly lowered our customer’s time and cost of test. This has provided them with a flexible platform for increased quality assurance and improved product function upon deployment.
Battery Tests Performed
Open Circuit Voltage (OCV)
Power Cycle Test
Capacity (Static, Script, Pattern/Pulse)
DC Internal Resistance (DCIR)
AC Internal Resistance (ACIR)
Left: The customer's portable ventilator, Right: Traditional ventilator.
Delivering the Outcome
Our BatteryFlex platform allows for the accurate evaluation of our customer’s outsourced batteries all the while greatly optimizing their time and cost of test through automation. We identify the individual capacity of each battery tested ensuring the quality control of their portable ventilator's power source. In active partnership, we provided a proof of concept developed into a complete test fixture deployed at our customer’s offices within 12 weeks.
BatteryFlex Offerings |
High-Resolution, High-Speed Measurements |
PXI Platform |
Playback and Record Load Cell Scenarios |
Data Logging, Analysis, and Storage |
Output to any format report or datasheet |
Thermal Monitoring and Measuring |
Safety Interlocks and Shutdown |
Specifications
4-Quadrant SMU (±60V, ±3A, 100fA Measurement)
7.5 Digital Multimeter (±3A, 1.8MS/s)
Thermocouple or RTD Measurement
Serial, CAN, I2C, SPI Communication
PXI Modular Architecture for flexible Instruments, Channel, & I/O Count
BatteryFlex Datasheet PDF for Download