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What This Guide Helps With
Troubleshoots unresponsive touch or control input caused by contamination, accessories, software state, physical obstruction, power, or control hardware problems.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
1. Protect Patient Care and Confirm Which Inputs Have Failed
Do not continue an examination if required controls cannot be reliably operated. Move clinical care to another verified ultrasound system.
Determine whether the entire touchscreen is unresponsive, only a portion fails, gestures do not register, control-panel functions fail, or the problem is intermittent.
Expected outcome: The failed input area and conditions are clearly identified. If control response returns and remains reliable after correction, troubleshooting can stop after verification.
2. Inspect for Physical Damage or Contamination
Inspect the touchscreen, surrounding bezel, control surfaces, and accessible controls for cracks, liquid, dried cleaning solution, adhesive residue, debris, or physical damage.
Remove the device from service if liquid intrusion or damaged electrical controls are suspected.
Expected outcome: Control surfaces are safe and unobstructed. If contamination is responsible and approved cleaning restores normal input, continue to final verification.
3. Remove External Obstructions
Confirm that no protective covering, tape, accessory, cable, glove residue, or other material is interfering with the touchscreen or gesture-sensing area.
Check that the system is positioned so normal interaction is not physically restricted by the cart.
Expected outcome: Nothing external interferes with control input. If removing an obstruction restores reliable operation, the issue is resolved after verification.
4. Clean the Control Surfaces Appropriately
Power down when appropriate and clean the touchscreen or control surfaces using approved methods and materials.
Do not saturate seams or introduce liquid into the system.
Expected outcome: The touchscreen is clean and dry and responds normally after restart. If responsiveness remains abnormal, continue troubleshooting.
5. Determine Whether the System Is Frozen or Only the Input Is Unresponsive
Observe whether the displayed image, clock, indicators, or other system activity continues while input is unresponsive.
If the entire application appears frozen, treat the problem as a software or system stability issue rather than only a touchscreen problem.
Expected outcome: The failure is isolated to input hardware or to overall software responsiveness.
6. Perform a Normal Restart
Use normal shutdown and startup methods when possible. Avoid repeated forced restarts.
After startup, test the previously affected areas before loading an exam.
Expected outcome: Controls respond consistently after restart. If the issue does not recur through controlled testing, proceed to final verification.
7. Disconnect Nonessential Accessories
Remove nonessential external peripherals or accessories that might be affecting the application or input processing.
Restart with the standard basic configuration.
Expected outcome: Input remains responsive without optional peripherals. If one accessory consistently causes the issue, remove that accessory from service or correct its connection before reuse.
8. Test the Full Accessible Control Surface
Verify multiple regions of the touchscreen and all commonly used user-accessible controls. Confirm that gestures, selections, and control inputs correspond correctly to the intended action.
Do not perform unauthorized touch calibration or enter restricted service menus.
Expected outcome: Input is accurate and repeatable across the normal control surface. Partial dead zones or recurring missed inputs require escalation.
9. Verify Normal Imaging Workflow
Open a test examination, select a probe, adjust normal imaging controls, freeze and unfreeze the image, enter or exit functions, and close the exam using a nonpatient test setup.
Expected outcome: All required controls operate normally throughout a representative workflow. Troubleshooting can stop.
10. Escalate Persistent or Intermittent Control Failure
If the touchscreen has dead areas, gesture detection remains unreliable, or the control panel intermittently stops responding after restart and cleaning, remove the system from service.
Expected outcome: An ultrasound system with unreliable operator controls is not returned to clinical use.
If the Problem Persists
External contamination, obstruction, accessories, software state, and normal restart have been addressed. Remaining causes may involve the touchscreen assembly, control electronics, operating software, internal connections, or other service-level components.
Remove the Venue Go from service, label it Out of Service, and send it for repair or controlled bench evaluation. Use GE Healthcare service documentation and approved test equipment. Repair, calibration, or configuration should be performed only by qualified personnel.
After repair, verify complete touchscreen and control operation throughout a representative imaging workflow before return to service.
Knowing when intermittent operator-control failure requires escalation is proper troubleshooting.
Clinical Use Tip
A control that works only after repeated taps or intermittent restarts is not sufficiently reliable for patient care.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Staff reported that the right side of the Venue Go touchscreen intermittently stopped responding during examinations."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Clinical Engineering reproduced a persistent touchscreen dead area after cleaning and normal restart while the remainder of the system remained responsive."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Clinical Engineering removed the ultrasound from service and sent it for qualified repair and complete control verification before clinical release."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Entire screen versus specific area affected
- Gesture versus touch behavior
- Physical or liquid damage
- Cleaning condition
- Whether system activity continued
- Restart results
- External accessories connected
- Controls tested
- Intermittent versus continuous failure
- Final device status
Final Thought
Maintain patient care continuity, rule out contamination, obstruction, and software state before assuming hardware failure, verify every required control after correction, escalate recurring failures, and document exactly what was reproduced.
That is successful troubleshooting.