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Rivian R1T 135 kWh battery used to perform a vasectomy during clinic power outage

Rivian R1T power used for electrocauterized vasectomy (image: Christopher Yang/Twitter)
Rivian R1T power used for electrocauterized vasectomy (image: Christopher Yang/Twitter)
A urologist has performed what they call 'the world's first Rivian-powered vasectomy' as the electricity in his practice went out. The patient didn't want to postpone, so Dr. Yang ran a power cord from his R1T electric pickup.

Rivian's vehicle-to-load (V2L) reverse power supply feature has been used for a good cause when one urologist suffered an outage just before he had to perform vasectomy on a patient. Dr. Christopher Yang ran a cord from his Rivian R1T electric pickup truck, and was able to do the surgery with the electrocautery procedure of choice without any complications, counting solely on the power coming from Rivian's huge 135 kWh battery pack:

I performed what is likely the world's first Rivian powered vasectomy today. Power in clinic went out, patient didn't want to reschedule cause he already had time off. Electrocautery was normal, procedure went great!

While there have been plenty of examples where electric vehicles' V2L option saves the day during power outages, this vasectomy case is one of the wildest examples of the technology's possible applications. Studies have shown show that electrocauterized vasectomies have ten times lower fail rate than the ligation technique and so they have long ago become the procedure of choice for urologists. Electrocautery uses current to generate heat and destroy tissue for various procedures, be it tumor destruction, bleeding stoppage, or, in the case of Dr. Yang's patient, be used instead of ligation.

As for the powerful R1T electric truck, it has no less than four 120V outlets, augmented by three 12V ones, so it is ready for any such reverse power supply adventures. Rivian's PR department may not have considered featuring emergency surgery as one of the V2L feature's added values in marketing materials just yet, though.

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Running a power cord from the Rivian truck (image: Dr. Yung/Twitter)
Running a power cord from the Rivian truck (image: Dr. Yung/Twitter)

Source(s)

@ChrisYangMD (Twitter)

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2022 09 > Rivian R1T 135 kWh battery used to perform a vasectomy during clinic power outage
Daniel Zlatev, 2022-09- 5 (Update: 2022-09- 5)