Safety System; Shutdown Alarms; Warnings And Operator-Attention Alarms; Multiple Alarms - Gambro Cobe Spectra Essentials Manual

General Alarms and Troubleshooting

Safety System

The Spectra system has a built-in safety system that signals alarm and
warning conditions. The severity of the condition determines the type of
audible alarm and whether a red Alarm LED or yellow Warning LED
illuminates.

Shutdown Alarms

System shutdown alarms cause the pumps to stop, pausing the system.
The return line valve may close or the centrifuge may stop. If the
centrifuge does not stop, the system limits its speed to 1800 rpm after
the pumps stop for more than 60 seconds. This reduces the temperature
increase in the channel and tubing. When the pumps restart, the
centrifuge speed increases automatically if it was reduced.
You can temporarily override some shutdown alarms during Run mode.
For safety reasons, you can override other shutdown alarms only during
Rinseback mode. If you override an alarm, you can restart the pumps for
a short time. When any shutdown alarm message appears, the red Alarm
LED flashes. If you temporarily override a shutdown alarm, the red
Alarm LED steadily illuminates. If the alarm condition persists for a
specific length of time, the system pauses, beeps, the red Alarm LED
flashes, and the alarm message appears.
During shutdown alarms, the Pause LED illuminates to indicate the
system is paused. If you override or clear the alarm, the Pause LED
flashes and the word CONTINUE appears in the bottom right-hand
corner of the display. In this case, press CONTINUE to remove the
alarm message from the display and restart the pumps.
If you cannot override the alarm, the Pause LED steadily illuminates, the
word CONTINUE does not appear on the display, and the
CONTINUE key does not function. If you press CONTINUE, the
12-2
following screen appears: "CONTINUE key – must clear alarm first!" In
this case, you must take some other action to clear the alarm before you
can restart the pumps.
When the alarm message flashes, the alarm is still active. When the alarm
message no longer flashes, the alarm condition is resolved.

Warnings and Operator-Attention Alarms

An alarm buzzer and a flashing yellow Warning LED indicate warnings
and operator attention alarms. If you see or hear one of these alarms,
quickly assess the current situation. These alarm conditions do not stop
the pumps or centrifuge, nor do they close the return line valve.
Some warning alarms clear automatically when the condition is resolved.
To clear other warnings you must press a key (usually CLEAR) once the
condition is resolved.
You can override some warning alarms by pressing CLEAR. This mutes
the audible alarm, changes the yellow Warning LED from flashing to
steady, and clears the alarm message from the display. You can override
most alarms for 2 minutes, though times vary.

Multiple Alarms

More than one alarm can occur at the same time during a procedure,
and is indicated by an asterisk in the lower right-hand corner of the
display. The alarm with the highest priority appears on the display. Press
CLEAR to display additional (lower priority) alarm messages.

Repeated Single-Needle Alarms

Due to the intermittent flow characteristics of Single-Needle procedures,
the Draw phase may push the Spectra system close to the alarm limits.
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COBE Spectra™ Apheresis System • Essentials Guide