On april 25, 2017, mindray field service representative visited the medical center again, and investigated the point of use of the specific a7 anesthesia machine as well as its surrounding area.During the on-site investigation, the biomed tech said there has been one staff cleaning all the rooms and devices, prior to the original report (the event was reported under mdr# 3007222337-2017-00003) and no one was aware that the paw gauge could be removed.(note: this paw gauge is not designed to be routinely removed.It is a redundant design as a backup pressure monitoring device in case the primary pressure sensor, which displays the pressure on a7's led screen, fails).If the surface of the a7 breathing system is cleaned and disinfected without due care, it is possible that the paw gauge is dislodged under excessive external force.During the onsite visit, mindray field service representative also found there have been many cables and tubing draped around the breathing system.These cables and tubes are connected to devices and patient on the surgical bed during the operation.Particularly, the tube of etco2 sample is connected to patient during the operation.If this tubing is wound around the paw gauge, and someone inadvertently pulled this tubing, the gauge could become dislodged.We are able to duplicate this in simulation tests.After this event, the medical center has streamlined responsibilities and the anesthesia tech is the only one that "turns over" the anesthesia system between cases.In addition, the anesthesia tech now checks that the paw gauge is fully inserted into the breathing system as part of his normal turn over process of the machine between cases.To date, this issue (paw gauge leaking or getting dislodged) has not reoccurred, according to the medical center.We also analyzed the gauge pointer issue reported in the complaint documented on mdr# 3007222337-2017-00003 and found the pointer was off from the dial plate.The separation force of the pointer was measured and no discrepancy was detected.The detached indicator pointer issue is irrelevant to the leak problem, and the separation is very likely caused by excessive external force.It should be noted the paw gauge is a backup of the electronic pressure sensor, and by design, the user monitors the parameter on the led screen of the a7 anesthesia system.The event documented on mdr# 3007222337-2017-00003 is the first complaint about gauge pointer separation since the launch of a7 anesthesia system in us and out of us market.(b)(4).
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