Patent ID: 6223077
Filing Date: 2001-04-24
Classification: A61N

Abstract:
A power supply switching circuit for use in a portable external defibrillator, said portable external defibrillator being operable for generating defibrillation pulses, the power supply switching circuit comprising:an output;a plurality of power sources;a plurality of power supply ports, each port configured to receive one of said power sources, wherein said plurality of power sources are at least one of external power sources or batteries, wherein said batteries are at least one of smart batteries or dumb batteries, said smart batteries including monitoring devices, and said dumb batteries not including monitoring devices;a plurality of microprocessor controllable switches for selectively coupling the power supply ports to the output of the power supply switching circuit;a microprocessor connected to said plurality of power supply ports and to said plurality of microprocessor controllable switches, the microprocessor acquiring data regarding said power sources, said microprocessor processing the data regarding said power sources; anda control program for controlling the operation of said microprocessor, the control program including a set of criteria that are desired for the operation of the external defibrillator and a selection routine for selecting a power supply port to be coupled to the output of the power supply switching circuit, the selection routine evaluating the data regarding the power sources according to the criteria that are desired for the operation of the external defibrillator, the selection routine including a subroutine suitable for evaluating the data regarding the smart battery power sources and for determining a set of smart batteries that are capable of powering the external defibrillator, and from the set of smart batteries selecting the best smart battery according to the criteria that are desired for the operation of the external defibrillator.