Medical Device Link.

ELECTRONICS

Distributed power architecture technology is gaining converts in the medical device industry because of its high efficiency.

Used extensively in telecommunications and data communications applications, distributed power architecture (DPA) technology is being increasingly employed for medical applications. “Although DPA has not been traditionally used in the medical device industry, the technology is ideally suited to the very stringent requirements of the medical device marketplace,” says Phil Goff, sales manager at the power conversion product firm Synqor (Welwyn, Herts, UK). “We see a growing trend within the medical marketplace itself [towards DPA]—particularly in high-power applications,” Goff adds. He notes that the use of medically approved front-end ac/dc to provide an intermediate bus of 24 or 48 V is increasingly common. “What’s needed for this application is a high-efficiency conversion stage from 24–48 V to more usual board voltages,” he explains. Suited for this purpose is the company’s open-frame, low-profile, high-efficiency dc/dc technology, which can introduce conversion stages with up to 96% efficiency.

DPA technology has a number of advantages over centralized power architecture (CPA). CPA uses a multiple-output, 75–80% efficient ac/dc convertor and requires each of the voltages to be delivered to the loads, either by wiring or large current-carrying traces on the boards. This requires the circuit designer to address a voltage drop resulting from insufficient wire sizing or excessive wire or trace length, which demands additional remote sense circuitry at the load. By contrast, DPA uses a single- output-profile, greater than 90% efficient ac/dc convertor to produce a bus voltage of either 24 or 48 V dc. This amount is typically high enough to eliminate voltage drops associated with remote sense circuitry, resulting in reduced thermal load.

Medical applications for DPA technology include CT, PET, MRI, ultrasound, and mammography imaging equipment as well as laser devices, laboratory technology, and linear accelerator equipment.

Synqor is certified to ISO 9001. As part of its commitment to the medical device industry, the firm is in the process of obtaining ISO 13486 certification and registering its facilities with US FDA.