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Medical-Grade AC-DC Supplies: Multiple Form Factors, Plug Options Ease Design

Article Source：digikey | Author：Bill Schweber | Issuing Time：2024.03.20
When designing AC-powered medical products, you face a unique power supply issue in addition to the usual engineering challenges. Your line-operated AC-DC supply (also called a power converter) must meet stringent safety regulations beyond those of non-medical design. You must also ensure it remains safe despite various failure modes.

Fortunately, the supply options for these converters have expanded, allowing you to pick from medical-qualified supplies in a variety of form factors, line-plug options, and power ratings.

The converters are regulated by ANSI/AAMI ES60601-1 (United States (US)) and IEC/BS EN/EN60601-1 (European Union (EU)) standards, along with the usual non-medical standards. They meet requirements that include two means of patient protection (2×MOPP) and a leakage current on the order of 100 microamperes (µA). These are among the various requirements that go beyond the usual supply standards for safety and efficiency.

In many cases, the supplies must be designed with a Class II AC plug configuration, ensuring safety despite lacking a third pin (blade) for ground. This contrasts with a Class I plug, which has a ground connection. The Class II is needed as many two-blade AC receptacles are still in use. Further, even if the receptacle is a three-prong grounded type, the actual ground connection may be absent or faulty.

You can choose between an open-frame, internal chassis supply, or an external wall-mount adapter. Sometimes, the best decision is clear, as most wall adapters are rated up to 50 watts maximum, making the open-frame supply the only viable choice in high-power designs. In other cases, the decision is a tradeoff or is determined by the application.

The open-frame power supply

Internal supplies are well-suited for products that must be complete, single-box solutions. Adding the supply internally adds to unit size, but this is often acceptable if your applications include dialysis machines, dental chairs, electrical beds, or fluid pumps.

Internal supplies are also used when distinct, fully independent rails are needed, in contrast to using a single supply with multiple outputs. This is a case where the supplies may have differing on/off scenarios or have a wide range of voltage and current ratings.

The open-frame converters in MEAN WELL’s “green” RPS Series are rated for medical applications. These units provide power levels from a modest 30 to a considerable 500 watts at output voltages from 5 to 48 volts.

A representative unit in the series is the RPS-120S-24, a 24 volt, 120 watt printed circuit board (pc board) converter with a tiny 2 × 3 inch (in.) footprint (Figure 1). It operates from inputs of 80 to 264 volts AC (VAC) with a full-load efficiency of 94% and an extremely low no-load power consumption under 0.3 watts. It can be used for Class I and Class II system installations and features an extremely low leakage current below 150 microamperes (µA).


Figure 1: The RPS-120S-24 pc board converter measures just 2 × 3 in. yet delivers up to 120 watts with high efficiency and low no-load dissipation. (Image source: MEAN WELL)

Wall-mount adapters

Wall-mount power units offer flexibility in packaging and use by reducing the volume and weight of the system. In many cases, they do not provide primary operating power but instead are used to charge internal batteries. This way, the system can be taken into the field without the burden of an internal AC-DC supply. Further, even if the unit is not a portable system, it nonetheless occupies less desktop or bench space as the supply can be located at the AC outlet.

Another benefit of wall adapters is that they keep the high voltage of the AC line outside of the system, simplifying the certification process as only safe, low-voltage DC is inside. Note that many low-cost, non-portable, battery-free consumer products now use external adapters for this reason. In contrast, internal open-frame supplies often require additional physical protection, such as screening or shielding, due to the exposed wires and components.

MEAN WELL offers adapters rated from 30 to 60 watts, with outputs from 5 to 48 volts, and with fixed plugs. Fixed means that the AC plug is mounted directly on the adapter body without needing an external AC cable, resulting in cost savings and more efficient use of space.

The units in MEAN WELL’s GEM60I series, such as the 9 volt, 60 watt GEM60I09-P1J (Figure 2), have interchangeable AC plugs for the EU, US, United Kingdom (UK), and for Australia (the plug kit is sold separately) (Figure 3).


Figure 2: This wall-mount converter in the GEM60I series has interchangeable body-mounted AC plug blades to support the requirements of various regions. (Image source: MEAN WELL)


Figure 3 : The four available blade configurations for the GEM60I adapters meet Australian, UK, EU, and US AC plug patterns. (Image source: MEAN WELL)

In contrast, MEAN WELL’s GSM60E series has a dedicated plug for the EU, and the GSM60U series has a plug for the US. These plugs are not removable or interchangeable but are instead constructed as integral parts of the adapters.

These Class II units operate from a universal input between 80 and 264 VAC and feature leakage current below 100 µA, with no-load power consumption below 0.15 watts. They meet all medical and other regulatory standards and feature UL 94V-0 grade, flame-resistant enclosures.

Conclusion
If you’re designing medical systems, you now have a wide variety of AC-DC converters with differing form factors to pick from that all meet the many regulatory mandates. By choosing a MEAN WELL supply with the required voltage, current, and power rating, and with a form factor optimized for the application, you can move on to other design features to differentiate your final product.
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