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What This Guide Helps With
Troubleshooting ARTIS zee X-ray unavailable, fluoroscopy inhibit, or exposure abort issues caused by setup, safety interlocks, accessories, or room conditions.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Ensure Patient Safety First
Confirm whether a patient is on the angiography table or an active procedure is underway.
If fluoroscopy or exposure is unavailable during a case, notify the physician and clinical team immediately. Do not continue relying on the system until imaging availability is restored.
Expected outcome: Patient care is protected before troubleshooting begins.
Confirm the Exact Reported Symptom
Ask staff what occurred and when it occurred.
Determine whether the issue is:
- Fluoro pedal pressed but no radiation generated
- Exposure button pressed but acquisition aborts
- X-ray unavailable message at the console
- System ready indicator not achieved
- Radiation warning indicator absent
- Intermittent fluoro during positioning
- Abort occurs only during a specific protocol or acquisition mode
Expected outcome: The failure mode is clearly identified before resets or escalation.
Check for Active System Messages or Inhibits
Review the ARTIS console, room display, and acquisition workstation for active warnings, interlock messages, or inhibit conditions.
Look for messages related to:
- Door or room interlock
- Emergency stop
- Collision protection
- C-arm position
- Table position
- Detector position
- Tube cooling or heat load
- Generator readiness
- Footswitch or hand switch status
- Patient data or exam selection
Expected outcome: Any visible inhibit condition is identified and addressed first.
If the message clearly identifies a safety interlock, correct that condition and retest. If resolved, return the system to clinical use and stop.
Verify Room Door and Radiation Safety Interlocks
Confirm the procedure room door is fully closed and any site-specific radiation safety interlocks are satisfied.
Check that warning lights, door switches, and room interlock indicators appear normal.
Expected outcome: X-ray generation is not being blocked by a room safety condition.
If closing the door or clearing the room interlock restores fluoroscopy, document the finding and stop.
Check Emergency Stop Buttons
Inspect accessible emergency stop buttons at the table, control area, and room control locations.
Confirm none are pressed, partially latched, damaged, or recently activated.
Expected outcome: The system is not being inhibited by an emergency stop condition.
If an emergency stop was active, reset it according to site procedure, allow the system to recover, and verify normal operation.
Confirm System Is Fully Ready
Verify the ARTIS zee system, generator, acquisition workstation, and image display chain are fully powered and ready.
Check for normal startup completion, no pending initialization messages, and no system “not ready” condition.
Expected outcome: The system has completed startup and is ready to generate X-rays.
If the system is still initializing or not fully ready, allow startup to complete before retesting.
Verify Correct Exam and Acquisition Setup
Confirm a valid patient/exam is selected and the requested imaging mode is properly loaded.
Check whether the issue occurs in all modes or only with one protocol, such as:
- Fluoroscopy
- Digital acquisition
- Roadmap
- DSA
- 3D acquisition
- Single shot exposure
Expected outcome: The issue is not caused by an incomplete exam setup or invalid acquisition selection.
If selecting a valid exam or different protocol restores imaging, document the workflow issue and stop.
Check Footswitch and Hand Switch Operation
Inspect the fluoro footswitch and exposure hand switch for physical damage, stuck buttons, fluid contamination, loose cable routing, or disconnected connectors.
If an alternate known-good switch is available and approved for that room, swap it and retest.
Expected outcome: The exposure command device is confirmed functional.
If the alternate switch restores fluoroscopy or exposure, remove the faulty switch from use and document the accessory failure.
Check Table, C-Arm, and Detector Positioning
Confirm the C-arm, table, detector, and tube are in a valid imaging position.
Look for collision protection warnings, end-of-travel limits, detector clearance issues, or table positions that may prevent exposure.
Expected outcome: The system geometry allows safe X-ray generation.
If repositioning the C-arm, table, or detector clears the inhibit, verify function and stop.
Inspect Collision Protection and Obstruction Areas
Visually inspect around the C-arm, detector, tube, table, floor stand, ceiling stand, cables, foot controls, and accessories.
Look for drapes, equipment, lead shields, carts, trash bins, or positioning aids contacting the system.
Expected outcome: No external obstruction is causing a collision inhibit or movement-related X-ray block.
If removing the obstruction restores system readiness, document the cause and stop.
Check Image Display and Acquisition Workstation Status
Confirm the acquisition workstation is responsive and not frozen, locked, or displaying an unresolved software prompt.
Verify images can display normally and the system is not waiting for user input, storage confirmation, patient data correction, or a DICOM/network action.
Expected outcome: X-ray is not being inhibited by an unavailable acquisition or image handling workflow.
If clearing the workstation prompt restores imaging, document the issue and stop.
Check Detector and Image Receptor Readiness
Confirm the detector is recognized, positioned correctly, and not reporting calibration, communication, or temperature-related faults.
Expected outcome: The image receptor is available to receive images.
If detector readiness cannot be confirmed, do not continue exposure attempts. Remove the system from use and escalate.
Check Tube Heat or Cooling Messages
Review the console for tube heat, cooling delay, generator, or thermal protection messages.
High procedure load may temporarily inhibit exposure until the tube cools.
Expected outcome: Any temporary heat-related exposure block is identified.
If the system indicates tube cooling is required, allow the required cooling period and retest when the system reports ready.
Perform a Controlled Retest Only When Safe
With clinical staff aware and no patient dependent on the system, perform a safe functional check using the site’s approved process.
Confirm whether fluoroscopy, exposure, image display, and radiation indicators behave normally.
Expected outcome: The system either returns to normal function or the fault is confirmed.
If the system passes and no fault returns, document the checks performed and return to service per site policy.
Avoid Repeated Exposure Attempts During an Unknown Fault
If fluoro remains inhibited, exposure aborts repeatedly, or X-ray unavailable messages return, stop retesting.
Repeated attempts may delay patient care and can mask an intermittent system, generator, detector, or safety interlock fault.
Expected outcome: Troubleshooting stops before unnecessary risk or downtime confusion occurs.
If the Problem Persists
If common external causes have been ruled out, the issue is likely related to an internal generator, detector, safety interlock, control circuit, workstation communication, or system software fault.
The ARTIS zee Series system should be removed from service, labeled Out of Service, and sent for Siemens service evaluation or bench-level repair support as appropriate.
Knowing when to stop is proper troubleshooting. Do not bypass interlocks, defeat safety circuits, or continue exposure attempts when the system is not clearly ready.
Clinical Use Tip
Do not troubleshoot X-ray generation faults on an active patient unless the clinical team has determined it is safe and necessary. If imaging is unavailable during a procedure, support the care team’s downtime or alternate imaging plan first, then troubleshoot only when patient safety is protected.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Clinical staff reported the Siemens ARTIS zee Series would not generate fluoroscopy and displayed an X-ray unavailable message during room setup."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Clinical Engineering found the room door interlock was not satisfied because the procedure room door was not fully latched."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Door was secured, system readiness returned, fluoroscopy function was verified with staff, and the angiography system was returned to service."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Exact X-ray unavailable, fluoro inhibit, or exposure abort message
- Whether issue occurred during setup or active procedure
- Fluoro pedal and hand switch checked
- Emergency stop status
- Room door/interlock status
- C-arm, table, and detector position
- Collision protection or obstruction findings
- Tube heat or cooling messages
- Detector readiness status
- Acquisition workstation status
- Whether issue affected all modes or only one protocol
- Any reset or restart performed
- Final device status
Final Thought
X-ray unavailable and fluoro inhibit issues on an angiography system should be handled carefully because they directly affect procedural imaging and patient safety. Start with visible safety interlocks, room conditions, footswitches, system readiness, positioning, and workstation status before suspecting internal generator or detector failure. Clear documentation helps separate workflow issues from true equipment faults and supports appropriate escalation.
That is successful troubleshooting.