Battery management for a breathing assistance system

1. A method for providing battery security in a breathing assistance system configured to provide breathing assistance to a patient, the method comprising:

receiving a battery in the breathing assistance system, the battery including a memory device storing electronic battery data regarding the battery;

a battery security system of the breathing assistance system accessing the electronic battery data from the memory device of the battery received in the breathing assistance system;

the battery security system analyzing the accessed electronic battery data to determine whether the battery is approved for use in the breathing assistance system;

if the battery is determined to be approved for use in the breathing assistance system, allowing the battery to provide power to the breathing assistance system;

if the battery is not determined to be approved for use in the breathing assistance system, preventing the battery from providing power to the breathing assistance system.

2. A method according to claim 1 , comprising:

the battery security system accessing approval data stored separately from the battery; and

wherein analyzing the received data to determine whether the battery is approved for use in the breathing assistance system comprises comparing the battery data accessed from the memory device of the battery with the accessed approval data.

3. A method according to claim 1 . comprising:

the battery security system determining that the battery has been received in the breathing assistance system; and

in response to determining that the battery has been received in the breathing assistance system, the battery security system accessing the battery data from the memory device of the battery.

4. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising if the battery is not determined to be approved for use in the breathing assistance system, preventing the breathing assistance system from providing breathing assistance to the patient until the non-approved battery is removed from the breathing assistance system.

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the battery data comprises at least one of manufacturer data identifying a manufacturer of the battery, capacity data identifying a storage capacity of the battery, and a date code.

6. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising if the battery is not determined to be approved for use in the breathing assistance system, automatically generating a user notification regarding the non-approved battery.

7. A battery security system for a breathing assistance system configured to provide breathing assistance to a patient, the battery security system comprising:

a read device configured to read electronic battery data from a memory device of a battery received in the breathing assistance system; and

a battery identification module configured to:

analyze the electronic battery data read from the memory device of the, received battery to determine whether the battery is approved for use in the breathing assistance system;

allow the battery to provide power to the breathing assistance system if the battery is determined to be approved for use in the breathing assistance system; and

prevent the battery from providing power to the breathing assistance system if the battery is not determined to be approved for use in the breathing assistance system.

8. A battery security system according to claim 7 , wherein the battery identification module is configured to:

access approval data stored separately from the battery; and

compare the battery data accessed from the memory device of the battery with the accessed approval data to determine whether the battery is approved for use in the breathing assistance system.

9. A battery security system according to claim 7 , wherein the read device is configured to access the battery data from the memory device of the battery in response to the battery being inserted in the breathing assistance system.

10. A battery security system according to claim 7 , wherein the battery data comprises at least one of manufacturer data identifying a manufacturer of the battery, capacity data identifying a storage capacity of the battery, and a date code.

11. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the memory device of the battery comprises at least one of a RAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, or Flash memory device.

12. A battery security system according to claim 7 , wherein the memory device of the battery comprises at least one of RAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, or Flash memory device.