Our Senior Product Manager, Andrew Bryars, looks at how GaN technology addresses the challenges facing the home healthcare market by offering superior efficiency, reduced heat generation, and compact size compared to traditional silicon-based power solutions.
Overview
- Demand for medical care outside traditional settings is driving innovations in home healthcare technology.
- Modern home healthcare devices require higher power output while maintaining portability and efficiency.
- Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology offers superior efficiency, compact size, and high power density compared to silicon-based solutions.
- XP Power's GaN-based AQM series offers compact and efficient solutions for home medical devices.
The trend towards home healthcare is growing as medical care increasingly shifts from hospitals and clinics to home settings. This transition is driven by the need to alleviate the burden on clinical settings, particularly as the global population ages, resulting in a higher demand for medical care.
How Covid-19 changed healthcare demands
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, highlighting the necessity for home healthcare due to limited hospital capacity and the need to isolate Covid patients from the general population. This surge occurred alongside the development of compact, connected medical devices that facilitate remote monitoring, contributing to a projected $265 million shift in healthcare services to home settings in the US by 2025, according to McKinsey & Company.
Power supply innovations for home healthcare
As home healthcare devices evolve, they demand more power, often exceeding the capabilities of traditional external power sources. External power supplies offer significant advantages, such as pre-certified safety and protective isolation, essential for patient-connected devices. However, designers face challenges in delivering higher wattage in compact, portable units, primarily due to power density and thermal management issues. Optimizing power supply efficiency is crucial, yet silicon-based semiconductors fall short in achieving the necessary efficiency levels.
Wide bandgap technology: the GaN solution
The push for higher power in smaller packages is not exclusive to home healthcare; it is a common challenge across various industries, including electric vehicles and renewable energy. Wide bandgap (WBG) technology, particularly using materials like silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), offers a solution.
GaN devices have a significantly higher bandgap than silicon, enabling them to operate at higher voltages, temperatures, and frequencies. GaN’s superior breakdown voltage and lower conduction resistance result in reduced heat generation and higher efficiency.
Superior efficiency and compact design of GaN-based power supplies
GaN devices also excel in reducing switching losses due to their faster switching capabilities compared to silicon and even SiC. This efficiency allows GaN-based power supplies to operate at higher frequencies, significantly reducing the size of transformers, inductors, and output capacitors. Consequently, GaN devices generate less waste heat, reducing or eliminating the need for bulky thermal management solutions like heat sinks and fans, thereby increasing power density and sustainability.
Practical applications: XP Power’s AQM series
XP Power’s AQM series demonstrates the practical benefits of GaN technology in medical applications. These external medical power supplies, available in 200W, 250W, 300W and 450W models, achieve up to 94% efficiency.
The compact, fanless design of GaN-based power solutions reduces the typical footprint by 50%, delivering the highest power densities in their segment and ensuring portability and practicality for home healthcare applications.
The AQM series
Summary
The growing home healthcare market requires advanced power solutions that traditional silicon-based technologies can no longer support. GaN technology, characterized by lower losses, faster switching, and higher operating temperatures, provides the necessary efficiency and compactness, making it the ideal choice for modern medical devices. XP Power’s innovative GaN-based solutions exemplify this technological leap, setting a new standard for the home healthcare industry.
Discover the AQM Series: Desktop GaN AC-DC power supplies in sealed IP22 cases for medical (2 x MOPP) applications.
Andrew Bryars
Andrew Bryars graduated with an Honors Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and has worked in the power supply industry since 1990. He has been with XP for over 25 years and has held a variety of engineering, sales, and management jobs culminating in his present position as Senior Product Manager.
