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What This Guide Helps With
Troubleshooting Cardiosave display, touchscreen, encoder, button, or user interface issues that affect safe IABP setup, monitoring, or control.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Ensure Patient Safety First
Do not troubleshoot user interface failures on an active patient unless another qualified clinician is managing patient support.
Action:
- Confirm whether the Cardiosave is actively supporting a patient.
- If the display, touchscreen, encoder, or controls are not reliable, notify clinical staff immediately.
- Have the patient moved to another functional IABP if therapy cannot be safely controlled.
- Do not continue support on a unit where therapy settings, alarms, or patient status cannot be clearly viewed or adjusted.
Expected outcome: Patient support is maintained using a safe, controllable device.
Why it matters: On an intra-aortic balloon pump, loss of display or control access can affect timing, alarms, augmentation monitoring, and emergency response.
Verify the Reported User Interface Problem
Confirm exactly what part of the interface is failing.
Action:
- Ask staff what failed:
- Blank display
- Dim or flickering display
- Frozen screen
- Touchscreen not responding
- Touchscreen responding incorrectly
- Encoder knob not scrolling or selecting
- Hard keys not responding
- Delayed or locked user interface
- Note whether the issue occurred at startup, during transport, while on battery, after docking, or during active therapy.
Expected outcome: The issue is narrowed to display, touch input, encoder control, keypad input, power state, or system software behavior.
Why it matters: A blank screen, frozen display, and nonresponsive touchscreen may look similar but point to different causes.
Check AC Power and Battery Status
A low-power or unstable power condition can cause display dimming, rebooting, freezing, or abnormal interface behavior.
Action:
- Connect the IABP to a known-good hospital-grade outlet.
- Verify the AC power indicator is present.
- Check whether the unit is running on battery unexpectedly.
- Confirm the power cord is fully seated at the unit and wall outlet.
- If the unit was recently transported, allow it to stabilize on AC power.
Expected outcome: The unit powers normally, display brightness remains stable, and the user interface responds correctly.
If this resolves the issue, document the power source or battery condition and stop.
Inspect the Display and Control Area for Physical Damage
External impact or fluid exposure can cause user interface failure.
Action:
- Inspect the screen for cracks, pressure marks, discoloration, or delamination.
- Check the touchscreen surface for cleaning residue, adhesive, gel, moisture, or protective film interference.
- Inspect the encoder knob for looseness, binding, missing cap, or signs of impact.
- Check hard keys for sticking, damage, or contamination.
- Look for signs of fluid ingress around the display bezel or control panel.
Expected outcome: The display and controls are clean, dry, intact, and mechanically normal.
If physical damage, fluid intrusion, or a stuck control is found, remove the unit from service.
Clean the Touchscreen Surface Safely
Residue or moisture can cause false touches or no touch response.
Action:
- Power the unit down if safe and not connected to a patient.
- Clean the touchscreen using facility-approved cleaning materials.
- Dry the screen completely.
- Remove any temporary coverings, labels, or protective barriers interfering with touch input.
- Power the unit back on and test touch response.
Expected outcome: Touch input responds accurately after the screen is clean and dry.
If cleaning resolves the problem, return the unit only after confirming normal control response.
Check for External Input Interference
Objects pressing against the screen or encoder can make the interface appear locked or erratic.
Action:
- Confirm nothing is resting against the touchscreen.
- Check that the encoder knob is not pressed in or jammed.
- Verify nearby cables, transport straps, or accessories are not applying pressure to controls.
- Make sure gloves, wet hands, or cleaning residue are not causing poor touchscreen response.
Expected outcome: The interface responds normally once external interference is removed.
If this resolves the issue, educate staff and document the external cause.
Perform a Controlled Power Cycle Only When Safe
A temporary software lockup may clear with a proper restart.
Action:
- Confirm the device is not actively supporting a patient.
- Power the unit down using the normal shutdown process if possible.
- Disconnect from AC only if appropriate and safe.
- Wait briefly, reconnect AC power, and restart the unit.
- Observe boot behavior, display function, touchscreen response, encoder response, and alarm presentation.
Expected outcome: The Cardiosave boots normally and the interface becomes responsive.
If the issue clears but returns, do not assume it is fixed. Escalate for bench evaluation.
Test User Interface Function in a Non-Patient Setting
Verify each control method before considering the unit safe.
Action:
- Navigate through available menus.
- Test touchscreen response across multiple areas of the screen.
- Rotate and press the encoder knob if applicable.
- Test hard keys and confirm they respond correctly.
- Confirm display brightness, contrast, and readability.
- Check for lag, ghost touches, freezing, or delayed response.
Expected outcome: All interface controls respond consistently and accurately.
If any control is intermittent, inaccurate, or unreliable, remove the unit from service.
Check Docking, Transport, and Configuration Conditions
Some complaints occur after movement, docking, undocking, or battery operation.
Action:
- Ask whether the issue occurred while moving the Hybrid unit, using the Rescue configuration, docking, undocking, or switching power sources.
- Inspect external docking contacts and connectors for obvious damage or contamination.
- Confirm the unit is seated correctly if used with its docking configuration.
- Check whether the issue follows a specific configuration or happens in all setups.
Expected outcome: The issue is linked to a configuration, docking condition, transport event, or confirmed as a general device fault.
If the problem follows a dock, transport base, or configuration, remove the affected setup from service and evaluate as a system.
Review Alarm, Error, and Event Information
The device may provide clues about system faults or interface failures.
Action:
- Record any displayed error messages, system alerts, startup errors, or alarm behavior.
- Note whether alarms are visible and audible.
- Check whether the unit logs or reports control/display errors during startup or operation.
- Take a photo of the screen if allowed by facility policy and no patient information is visible.
Expected outcome: The failure is documented with enough detail for repair evaluation or vendor escalation.
Why it matters: Intermittent interface complaints are difficult to repair without clear symptom details.
Do Not Rely on a Partially Functional Interface
A unit that “mostly works” may still be unsafe for IABP therapy.
Action:
- Do not return the device to service if the display freezes, touch response is intermittent, the encoder skips, or controls respond unpredictably.
- Do not rely on workarounds for a device used for circulatory support.
- Remove the unit from service if any primary user interface function is unreliable.
Expected outcome: Only devices with dependable display, control, and alarm interaction remain available for patient use.
If the Problem Persists
If power, cleaning, external interference, docking condition, and basic restart checks do not resolve the issue, the likely cause is internal display, touchscreen, encoder, keypad, control panel, cable, power, or system electronics failure.
The device should be:
- Removed from service
- Labeled Out of Service
- Sent for repair, bench evaluation, or vendor/service evaluation
Knowing when to stop is proper troubleshooting. On an intra-aortic balloon pump, unreliable user interface control is not acceptable for patient care.
Clinical Use Tip
Do not troubleshoot a Cardiosave user interface failure while it is actively supporting a patient unless patient safety is already secured. If settings, alarms, timing, or augmentation cannot be clearly viewed or controlled, transition the patient to another functional IABP before continuing equipment evaluation.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Clinical staff reported the Cardiosave Hybrid / Rescue touchscreen was not responding and the encoder would not reliably select menu options during setup."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Verified the display powered on, but touchscreen response was intermittent and encoder selection skipped after power cycle and cleaning checks."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Removed the IABP from service, labeled it Out of Service, documented the user interface failure, and sent the unit for bench repair evaluation."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Was the unit connected to AC power or running on battery?
- Was the issue reported during patient use, setup, transport, docking, or startup?
- Was the display blank, frozen, dim, flickering, or readable?
- Did the touchscreen fail completely or respond inaccurately?
- Did the encoder rotate, press, skip, bind, or fail to select?
- Were hard keys working normally?
- Were any error messages or alarms present?
- Was there any fluid residue, cleaning residue, physical damage, or cracked screen?
- Did a power cycle temporarily restore function?
- Did the issue return after restart?
- Final device status: returned to service, removed from service, sent for repair, or vendor contacted
Final Thought
Display and user interface problems on an intra-aortic balloon pump must be treated seriously because they can affect therapy setup, alarm response, and safe device control. Start with simple external causes such as power, contamination, obstruction, docking, and obvious damage. If the interface remains unreliable, remove the device from service and document the failure clearly using the CCR method.
That is successful troubleshooting.