Four classic cases to help you avoid the frustration of ultrasound equipment crashes

Device Brand:Hitachi Color Ultrasound Diagnostic Instrument

Device Model:EUB-8500

Fault Phenomenon:

The machine self-test fails and shows a "dead machine" fault. Repeated power-on attempts cannot resolve the issue, rendering the machine inoperable.

Fault Description:

The cause of the "dead machine" fault was identified as a failure of the cAPTuRE button on the keyboard to reset. The reason for the button's failure to reset was that the tissue paper used during inspection was of poor quality, resulting in many small pieces of paper and debris. During use, these paper scraps and debris were scattered on the keyboard. These paper scraps and debris, like fine sand, became lodged in the button switch, preventing the switch from returning to its original position after being released.

Solution:

During the power-on self-test of the Hitachi EUB-8500 color ultrasound machine, the machine detected these switches that had not returned to their original state, triggering a self-test fault alarm and preventing further progress, resulting in the "dead machine" fault. After disassembling the machine and cleaning the keyboard, the fault was resolved. This was a "dead machine" fault caused by dust.

Device Brand:Aloka Color Ultrasound Diagnostic Instrument

Device Model:A5

Fault Phenomenon:

The machine detected an abnormal voltage. Please restart the system.

Fault Description:

1. The CW on the diagnostic instrument can only be used under cardiac conditions; it has no CW function under other conditions. Therefore, the CW board may be damaged.

2. When the fault occurs, the CW working voltage measured by the attached power supply is significantly reduced, suggesting a possible fault related to the attached power supply.

3. This fault may also be caused by loss of CW signal triggering and communication functions.

4. The cardiac probe (phased array probe) consists of PW and CW; the cardiac probe may be damaged.

5. Software system damage has caused the loss of CW function.

Solution:

After replacing the attached power supply and related circuit boards without effect, the cardiac probe was replaced, and the dead machine phenomenon did not occur, solving the problem. The cause of the fault was damage to the cardiac probe, which caused abnormal voltage supply to part of the machine's circuit, requiring the machine to restart.

Device Brand:GE Ultrasound Diagnostic Instrument

Device Model:LOGIQ 9

Fault Phenomenon:

The machine crashed several days in a row during ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation in the operating room. After automatic restart, a blue screen appeared. When moved back to the ultrasound examination room, it functioned normally.

Fault Description:

1. Because the fault occurred in the operating room, the possibility of instrument overheating was considered first. Inspection showed that the instrument temperature was normal; restarting the machine still resulted in a blue screen.

2. Considering that the operating platform of the instrument's computer is windows, blue screen errors are mainly related to windows and its dependent computer hardware, i.e., the BEP system. If the FEP system malfunctions, it usually displays a specific error code and does not show the blue screen background.

3. After disassembling and inspecting the memory stick and reseating it, the machine started normally, and the surgery continued. When moved back to the ultrasound examination room, the windows startup test showed that the system crashed when the blue progress bar reached the third bar during the application loading process.

4. At this point, it was determined that the instrument's frequent movement between the operating room and the ultrasound examination room, along with vibration during transportation, may have caused the PCI card to loosen, resulting in intermittent interruption of communication between the BEP and FEP systems.

Solution:

1. The BEP system external interface cables and FEP system interface cables were checked in sequence and reseated; however, the fault persisted.

2. The focus of the investigation shifted to the inside of the BEP system. The PCI cards and cables were checked one by one in the order of signal input. When the second display signal card was checked, it was found to be loose. After reseating and tightening it, the machine started normally.

Device Brand:Philips Color Ultrasound Diagnostic Instrument

Device Model:HD11

Fault Phenomenon:

The machine suddenly crashed during use, and repeatedly crashed after restarting after a period of use.

Fault Description:

During normal use, all functions work normally. When a crash occurs, possible causes are considered to be:

1. System software problems;

2. Poor contact inside the machine;

3. Bad sectors or damage to the hard drive;

4. Memory stick or motherboard failure.

5. First, the software was reinstalled. After backing up all preset conditions, the system disk was inserted into the optical drive, and the system was reinstalled. After the software was installed, the preset conditions were restored, and the machine was tested for 30 minutes. No crashes occurred. However, the fault reappeared after a while, indicating that the software was not the problem.

6. Then, the hard drive was checked for bad sectors. The hard drive was removed and checked using bad sector detection software. The results showed it was healthy, with no bad sectors. Then the front and back ends of the ultrasound were checked, and all the boards were cleaned, dusted, and reseated. After a 1-hour test, the crashes appeared again.

7. After careful analysis, it was determined that the problem was not related to the front end of the machine and mainly concentrated on the back-end PC host. After reviewing the maintenance manual, it was believed that the problem mainly focused on the memory and the PC motherboard. Since the motherboard was more difficult to remove, the memory sticks were checked first.

8. A regular computer memory stick was replaced. However, a black screen appeared upon startup. Later, the memory stick was tested on another HD11XE machine, where it worked for several days without any problems.

Solution:

Replacing the motherboard solved the problem.