General instructions and rules for using PRIME
DIC™
AkuPaks
METRAX GmbH
DefiMonitor XD 21324 / GB / K05
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General instructions and rules for using PRIMEDIC™
AkuPaks
A nickel-cadmium rechargeable battery (NiCd battery) has been selected to power
PRIMEDIC™ defibrillators in the
DefiMonitor XD and
PRIMEDIC™ HeartSave
series. Very
short charging times with low strain on the battery are possible through the use of a state-of-
the-art, micro-processor-controlled charging function. NiCd rechargeable batteries are subject
to natural wear and ageing.
Self-discharge
The self-discharge of a battery means that a fully charged battery slowly and continually loses
its charge, even if it is not used.
Note
After 4 weeks, NiCd batteries are still at approximately 60 % capacity. Batteries in
storage must therefore be recharged after approximately 6-8 weeks.
If the device is on a charging fixture or if the defibrillator is running in standby mode with mains
connection, the PRIMEDIC™ AkuPak battery automatically begins a recharging cycle e
very 2
weeks, thus automatically compensating for the loss of charge.
If you are using
several PRIMEDIC™ AkuPak batteries, use the reserve batteries in rotation to
replace the battery in the device in order to avoid long storage times.
Memory effect
If the NiCd battery is only slightly discharged over a long period and then recharged, the
typical "Memory" effect takes place. The practical consequence of the "Memory" effect is that
the battery, although it has a large nominal charging capacity, behaves like a small battery with
low capacity.
An example to illustrate this:
A battery has a capacity for 50 defibrillations. 5 defibrillations are performed and the battery is
then recharged. The "memory" effect may set in if this mode of operation is continued over a
long period. i. e. the capacity of the battery is reduced to 5 to 6 defibrillations, as the battery
has been "trained” to perform 5 defibrillations.
Avoiding the "Memory" effect
To avoid this "Memory" effect, the battery must be completely discharged from time to time
and then fully recharged.
The optimum way to achieve this is with a fully automatic discharger / charger, which performs
defined discharging before every charging process.
The fully automatic discharger / charger is available as the Care Function in the PRIMEDIC™
Charger Comfort for PRIMEDIC™ DefiMonitor. This optional ac
cessory (also retrofittable)
allows you to charge a second PRIMEDIC™ AkuPak battery, and the battery Accu
-Care
Function effectively prevents the occurrence of the "Memory" effect.
