HIGH-ENERGY NICKEL-ZINC BATTERY DEVELOPMENT FOR VENTRICULAR

INVESTIGATION OF A NEW HIGH-ENERGY BATTERY SYSTEM FOR TRANSCUTANEOUS TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY, E.G., IN A VENTRICULAR ASSIST SYSTEM (VAS) OR OTHER HEART PUMPS, IS PROPOSED. THE DEVELOPMENT IS BASED ON THE STABILIZED NICKEL-ZINC BATTERY SYSTEM DEVELOPED BY ELECTROCHIMICA CORP. WHICH OFFERS THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES: A. B. A LONG CYCLE LIFE, C. A HIGHER CELL VOLTAGE RESULTING IN FEWER CELLS FOR A BATTERY OF A GIVEN VOLTAGE. UP TO NOW THE NICKEL-ZINC HAS BEEN AVAILABLE ONLY IN VENTED CELL FORMS. SEALED BATTERIES ARE A NECESSITY FOR THE INTERNAL POWER SOURCE OF A VAS AND THEY ARE ALSO DESIRABLE FOR THE EXTERNAL UNITS. AS A KEY APPROACH TOWARDS SEALING OF NICKEL-ZINC CELLS AN OXYGEN RECOMBINATION TECHNIQUE IS PROPOSED WHICH WOULD PERMIT CONSIDERABLE LATITUDE IN CHARGING AND OVERCHARGING WITHOUT DEVELOPING ANY SIGNIFICANT PRESSURES IN THE BATTERY. A FOUR-TASK, SIX-MAN (PHASE I) PROGRAM IS PRESENTED TO DEVELOP THIS TECHNIQUE AND ESTABLISH A BASIC APPROACH TOWARDS CELL DESIGN FOR FUTURE HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT, LATER IN PHASE II, FOR DEVICE APPLICATIONS.