On this page
Asset Type
Manufacturer
Model
What This Guide Helps With
Troubleshooting CT tube, gantry motion, exposure abort, or CT reconstruction faults on a Symbia Intevo SPECT / CT System.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Ensure Patient Safety First
Confirm whether the Symbia Intevo is actively being used for a patient study.
If the fault occurs during a patient exam, have clinical staff stop the scan according to site procedure and remove the patient from the scanner only when safe.
Expected outcome: The patient is not left in the bore or on the table while equipment status is uncertain.
If patient care or imaging workflow is at risk, stop troubleshooting and escalate immediately.
Confirm the Exact CT Fault
Ask the technologist what occurred and when it occurred.
Determine whether the issue involves:
- CT tube warmup failure
- CT exposure abort
- Gantry rotation fault
- CT image reconstruction failure
- CT scan does not start
- CT scan starts but aborts
- Error occurs during SPECT/CT attenuation correction
- Error occurs only on certain protocols
- Error occurs after system startup or after extended use
Expected outcome: The complaint is separated into a tube, gantry, exposure, protocol, workstation, or reconstruction problem.
Check for Immediate Safety Indicators
Inspect the scanner area for unusual noise, burning smell, visible damage, fluid intrusion, smoke, overheating, or abnormal gantry behavior.
Listen for scraping, grinding, repeated relay clicking, or abnormal fan noise.
Expected outcome: No unsafe physical condition is present.
If there is smoke, burning smell, abnormal heat, mechanical impact, or unsafe gantry motion, remove the system from service and escalate for service immediately.
Verify Emergency Stop Status
Check whether any emergency stop button is engaged in the scan room, control room, or system area.
Reset only if the area is safe and site procedure allows reset.
Expected outcome: The system is not being held in a stopped or inhibited state by an engaged emergency stop.
If resetting the emergency stop clears the issue and the system passes required checks, document the finding and stop.
Confirm System Power and Startup State
Verify that the gantry, acquisition workstation, reconstruction workstation, CT subsystem, and related cabinets are powered normally.
Check for tripped breakers, inactive power indicators, UPS alarms, or shutdown messages.
Expected outcome: The CT and workstation subsystems are fully powered and communicating.
If power is unstable or a breaker trips again after reset, remove the system from service and escalate.
Check Room Interlocks and Door Status
Confirm the scan room door, interlocks, and radiation safety controls are in the proper state for CT exposure.
Verify that the system is not displaying a door, interlock, or exposure inhibit message.
Expected outcome: CT exposure is not being prevented by a safety interlock.
If an interlock or door condition resolves the issue, repeat the required functional check and stop.
Check Gantry and Table Area for Obstruction
Inspect the gantry opening, table travel path, covers, accessories, positioning aids, straps, and patient support items.
Confirm nothing is contacting the gantry, table, detector area, or moving components.
Expected outcome: Gantry rotation and table motion are not blocked by external obstruction.
If removing an obstruction resolves the fault, perform a safe test movement or site-approved system check before returning to service.
Confirm Table Position and Patient Load Conditions
Verify the table is properly positioned, not at a travel limit, and not overloaded.
Confirm the table is not misaligned, pinned against an accessory, or stopped at an unexpected position.
Expected outcome: CT scan start is not prevented by table position or travel limit.
If repositioning the table resolves the fault, document the condition and confirm normal operation.
Review the Error Message or Event Log
Record the exact error code, message text, time of failure, scan type, protocol, and whether the fault occurred before, during, or after CT exposure.
Do not clear logs before capturing useful service information.
Expected outcome: Service has specific fault details instead of a vague “CT not working” complaint.
Confirm Whether the Problem Is Protocol-Specific
Ask whether the failure occurs on all CT scans or only on a specific SPECT/CT protocol.
If safe and approved by site procedure, attempt a basic non-patient CT test or manufacturer-approved QA workflow.
Expected outcome: The issue is narrowed to a general CT subsystem fault or a protocol/reconstruction workflow issue.
If only one protocol fails, involve imaging leadership, applications support, or Siemens service as appropriate before assuming hardware failure.
Check CT Tube Warmup or Readiness Status
Confirm whether the system requires CT tube warmup, calibration, or readiness preparation before scanning.
If the system indicates tube warmup is required, have qualified staff complete the normal warmup workflow.
Expected outcome: CT exposure is not being blocked because the tube is not ready.
If warmup fails, aborts, or repeatedly prompts, remove the system from clinical use and escalate.
Check Exposure Enable and Scan Start Conditions
Confirm the technologist is following the normal scan start sequence and that the system is not waiting for operator acknowledgement.
Verify that exposure indicators, warning lights, and control room prompts behave normally.
Expected outcome: The exposure abort is not caused by incomplete operator sequence, door status, or exposure inhibit.
If the exposure starts normally after correcting the sequence or room condition, document and stop.
Assess Whether the Fault Is CT Hardware or Reconstruction
Determine whether raw CT acquisition completes successfully.
If CT exposure completes but images fail to reconstruct, focus on workstation, storage, software, reconstruction queue, and network/storage availability.
If CT exposure aborts before or during scan, focus on tube, generator, gantry, interlock, or CT subsystem faults.
Expected outcome: The failure is separated into acquisition failure versus post-acquisition reconstruction failure.
Check Workstation and Reconstruction Queue Status
Inspect the acquisition and reconstruction workstation screens for frozen applications, full queues, failed reconstruction jobs, disk space warnings, database errors, or communication errors.
Do not delete studies or reconstruction data unless authorized by site policy.
Expected outcome: Reconstruction is not blocked by a workstation, queue, or storage issue.
If a simple application restart is part of approved site workflow and clears the issue, verify reconstruction completes before returning the system to use.
Check Network and Storage Availability
Confirm the system can access required local storage, reconstruction resources, and archive destinations.
Determine whether PACS, RIS, DICOM, or network storage problems are also being reported.
Expected outcome: Reconstruction failure is not being caused by unavailable storage or external network dependency.
If the issue is network or archive-related, coordinate with IT/PACS support and document that CT acquisition hardware was not the primary finding.
Perform a Controlled System Restart Only If Appropriate
If no patient is involved and site procedure allows it, restart the affected workstation or system component using the approved shutdown and startup process.
Avoid repeated power cycling.
Expected outcome: Temporary software or communication faults clear without masking a recurring hardware problem.
If the same CT tube, gantry, exposure, or reconstruction fault returns after restart, remove the system from service and escalate.
Verify Operation Before Returning to Service
After any correction, confirm the system completes the appropriate CT readiness check, QA workflow, or test scan per site policy.
Verify that reconstruction completes and no related fault returns.
Expected outcome: The system is confirmed functional before clinical use resumes.
If the system cannot complete a safe verification check, do not return it to service.
If the Problem Persists
If the CT tube, gantry, exposure abort, or reconstruction fault remains after external checks, safety interlocks, power state, table position, workstation status, and protocol conditions have been reviewed, the issue is likely internal or service-level.
The Symbia Intevo should be:
- Removed from service
- Labeled Out of Service
- Escalated to Siemens service or qualified imaging service support
- Held from patient use until CT acquisition and reconstruction are verified
Knowing when to stop is proper troubleshooting. CT tube, gantry, generator, exposure control, and reconstruction faults can affect radiation delivery, image quality, and patient safety.
Clinical Use Tip
Do not troubleshoot CT exposure or gantry motion issues with a patient on the table unless required for immediate safety. Move the patient to a safe location first, then evaluate the system. Any recurring exposure abort, abnormal gantry motion, tube warmup failure, or reconstruction failure should be treated as a patient safety and diagnostic reliability concern.
Work Order Documentation (CCR Method)
CCR = Complaint, Cause, Resolution
Complaint
What was reported by the clinical staff.
Example:
"Technologist reported the Siemens Symbia Intevo aborted during the CT portion of a SPECT/CT study and CT images did not reconstruct."
Cause
What was observed during troubleshooting.
Example:
"Verified no patient was on the table, checked emergency stop, room door/interlock status, table position, gantry area, and workstation queue; CT exposure fault returned during approved system check."
Resolution
What action was taken.
Example:
"Removed system from service, labeled Out of Service, recorded error message and time of failure, and escalated to Siemens service for CT subsystem evaluation."
Helpful Details to Include (If Known)
- Alarm behavior, exact CT error code, message, time and date of failure
- Accessories swapped or checked, including positioning aids, straps, table accessories, and patient support items
- Power behavior, including power indicators, tripped breakers, UPS alarms, shutdown messages, or restart history
- Environmental factors, including room door status, interlock status, scanner area obstruction, smoke, overheating, fluid intrusion, abnormal noise, vibration, or gantry behavior
- Indicator lights, including exposure indicators, warning lights, control room prompts, emergency stop status, workstation warnings, storage warnings, and network or DICOM status
- Final device status, including whether the system was returned to service, removed from service, labeled Out of Service, or escalated to Siemens service
Final Thought
CT faults on a SPECT / CT System should be approached carefully and logically. Start with patient safety, room conditions, power, interlocks, table position, and workstation status before assuming internal failure. If the problem continues or involves exposure control, gantry motion, tube readiness, or reconstruction reliability, remove the system from service and escalate. Clear CCR documentation helps service teams respond faster and protects patient safety.
That is successful troubleshooting.