Temperature microcontroller monitors and protects medical equipment

Laird has developed the SR-54 Series programmable temperature controller that can be incorporated into a thermoelectric assembly (TEA) to add integrated, customizable and precise temperature control for medical diagnostic equipment. Temperature stability is vital in medical diagnostic equipment including ultrasound, MRI, PET, CT, and X-ray machines. Even small fluctuations in the operating temperature of these machines can significantly affect the image quality and resolution. Likewise, analytical instruments such as spectrometers, particle analyzers and chromatography equipment can produce flawed data when operating outside operating temperature ranges. The bi-directional SR-54 Series is microcontroller based device with built-in monitoring and closed loop feedback control intelligence. The SR-54 Series temperature controller protects critical medical diagnostic equipment and analytical instruments, ensuring maximum uptime and optimal performance. Standard off-the-shelf controllers are too complex, or do not have basic alarm and control features required to operate a TEA effectively. Previously, engineers had to design their own system from the ground up for TEA monitoring and control capability, which is an expensive and time consuming proposition. The customizable SR-54 Series thermoelectric controller can easily be programmed to identify a problematic fan, thermoelectric module, over-temperature thermostat and temperature sensor failure, all of which are critical to maximizing medical and lab equipment uptime. By installing this ready-to-use bi-polar temperature controller that has been optimized to operate thermoelectric assemblies, engineers can save hundreds of product development hours. "Our SR-54 Series controller is the ideal complement to thermoelectric-based thermal management of medical diagnostic and analytical instrumentation cooling/heating applications, where maximum uptime and optimal performance are top priorities," said Anders Kottenauer, senior vice president of Laird's Engineered Thermal Systems Unit. "All programming is conducted in-house by Laird engineering to the customer's unique requirements." The SR-54 Programmable Controller is a microcontroller-based device that drives TEA’s to exact temperature set points in cooling and heating mode. The controller can accommodate up to three NTC thermistors and can control temperature to within ± 0.15°C under steady state conditions. The ready-to-use controller requires minimal programming out of the box and can be easily adhered to a TEA or system enclosure, says the company.