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What This Guide Helps With
Addresses wash, waste, and fluidics faults caused by empty supplies, full waste, poor connections, kinks, leaks, air, blockage, or installation problems.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
1. Protect Testing and Inspect for Leakage
Stop patient testing if wash, waste, or fluid handling is unreliable. Inspect around the analyzer before touching anything.
If there is significant leakage, unknown chemical exposure, electrical wetting, or a biohazard spill beyond normal containment, remove the analyzer from service and follow facility safety procedures.
Expected outcome: No uncontrolled hazard is present, or the analyzer is safely removed from service.
2. Confirm the Exact Fluidics Fault
Determine whether the issue involves wash solution, diluent, another reagent fluid, waste collection, drainage, fluid transfer, or a general fluidics status.
Record the exact displayed message and when it occurs.
Expected outcome: The affected fluid pathway is identified.
3. Check External Fluid Supplies
Verify required wash and other externally managed fluids are present, correctly installed, and not obviously empty or improperly connected.
Inspect containers for damage, leakage, collapsed walls, loose caps, or incorrect placement.
Expected outcome: Required fluids are available and properly installed. If correcting a supply installation clears the fault, verify operation and stop.
4. Check Waste Collection
Inspect the accessible waste container or waste connection used by the installation. Confirm waste is not full, disconnected, kinked, improperly positioned, or otherwise preventing normal drainage.
Use proper PPE for potentially biohazardous waste.
Expected outcome: Waste can be handled normally. If correcting a full or improperly connected waste setup resolves the fault, verify and stop.
5. Inspect Accessible Tubing and Connections
Look for pinched tubing, kinks, loose fittings, obvious air gaps, wet connections, dried residue, or tubing pulled from its intended routing.
Do not disconnect or open internal fluid manifolds.
Expected outcome: Accessible fluid connections are intact and unobstructed. If correcting an external kink or loose approved connection resolves the problem, verify and stop.
6. Check for Recent Consumable Changes
Determine whether the fault began after fluid-container replacement, waste service, cleaning, relocation, or maintenance.
Recheck the installation of anything recently handled.
Expected outcome: Any installation-related cause is corrected. If normal fluidics resume, troubleshooting can stop after verification.
7. Inspect for External Obstruction or Drainage Problems
Where the system uses facility drainage or external waste routing, verify the accessible route is not compressed, elevated incorrectly, or visibly blocked.
Coordinate with facilities when a building drainage issue is suspected.
Expected outcome: External drainage or waste infrastructure is functioning normally.
8. Perform the Supported Fluidics Recovery
If permitted within the normal approved workflow, allow the analyzer to perform its supported prime, wash, or fluidics recovery process.
Do not repeatedly run recovery cycles when the system continues to fault.
Expected outcome: Fluid flow recovers and the analyzer reaches normal ready status. If not, escalate.
9. Check for Continued Leakage or Air
Observe accessible areas during recovery for recurring bubbles, leakage, poor fluid pickup, or waste backup.
Expected outcome: Fluid movement appears stable without leakage or persistent air introduction.
10. Perform Final Functional Verification
Confirm the fluidics fault has cleared, the analyzer reaches ready status, and required QC passes before patient testing resumes.
Expected outcome: Wash, waste, and fluidics operation are stable and QC is acceptable. The issue is resolved and troubleshooting can stop.
If the Problem Persists
External supply containers, waste handling, accessible tubing, connections, drainage, installation, and supported recovery actions have been ruled out. The remaining cause may involve an internal pump, valve, pressure or vacuum path, sensor, fluid manifold, leak, obstruction, or control subsystem.
The analyzer should be:
- Removed from service
- Labeled Out of Service
- Sent for repair or bench/service evaluation
- Evaluated using appropriate Abbott documentation and approved test equipment
- Repaired only by qualified personnel
Do not dismantle internal fluidics without authorized procedures. Following repair, inspect for leaks and complete required operational and QC verification before return to service.
Knowing when to stop external troubleshooting is proper troubleshooting.
Clinical Use Tip
Treat any fluidics fault involving leakage as both an equipment issue and a potential electrical or biohazard safety issue.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Laboratory staff reported a recurring waste-system fault on the Abbott Alinity hq."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Clinical Engineering found the accessible waste tubing kinked behind the analyzer and restricting drainage."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Clinical Engineering corrected the tubing routing, confirmed normal waste flow and fault clearance, and verified the analyzer was ready for laboratory QC before patient testing resumed."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Exact fluidics or waste message
- Fluid or waste path affected
- Supply-container status
- Waste-container status
- Accessible tubing condition
- Visible bubbles
- Leakage location
- Recent consumable replacement
- Recent relocation or service
- Drainage condition
- Recovery-cycle result
- Final QC status
Final Thought
Start with containers, waste, tubing, connections, and external drainage before assuming internal fluidics failure. Stop immediately for uncontrolled leakage, and verify both fluid stability and analytical quality after correction.
That is successful troubleshooting.