Gem 5000 issues
8 followers
0 Likes
Hi all,
I wanted to see if anyone that uses the 5000s have had issues with cartridges not lasting the number of tests or 31 days? Our Chemistry dept recently got them and are trying to do validations but they are having issues with one instrument kicking out cartridges for Lactic Acid errors (4 in the last couple of weeks) and neither of the other 2 instruments have cartridges that have lasted for the 450 tests or 31 days. They seem to be kicking them out for various reasons. This is our first experience with Gems so needless to say they are not impressed or happy with them. Any thoughts or tidbits of wisdom you can shed would be helpful or if you are seeing the same issues.
Thanks
Adonica
I wanted to see if anyone that uses the 5000s have had issues with cartridges not lasting the number of tests or 31 days? Our Chemistry dept recently got them and are trying to do validations but they are having issues with one instrument kicking out cartridges for Lactic Acid errors (4 in the last couple of weeks) and neither of the other 2 instruments have cartridges that have lasted for the 450 tests or 31 days. They seem to be kicking them out for various reasons. This is our first experience with Gems so needless to say they are not impressed or happy with them. Any thoughts or tidbits of wisdom you can shed would be helpful or if you are seeing the same issues.
Thanks
Adonica
4 Replies
Hi Adonica, I have a similar issue with the Lac, thb and glu routinely flagging as unable to correct QC. Even when a new cartridge is placed the lactate, although passes, seems to run at the high end of the range. It might be helpful to call your Werfen or your Gems sales rep to ask for a cartridge refund?
We've had similar issues though not necessarily with Lactic. There doesn't seem to be anything in particular that triggers them. We just call Werfen and get a refund/replacement. They have us send them data from GemWeb+ for the cartridge, but we've never heard back if there was a specific reason for the failure (beyond the actual error message) or anything we could have done to prevent it.
We once had a bad lot of cartridges that were failing soon after being placed on the analyzer, but once we got through that lot we were OK. We run about 20% failures typically, but I do not have a breakdown of how many failures are due to running a clot through vs. a failure of the pack itself.
We have had these since 2017 and increased the numbers on hand to 28. We have had periodic cartridge faults and contact tech support for cartridge credit. They are very accepting and have not refused any problem cartridges. These are in three different OR depts., L&D, ENDO, BRONCH, and PACU. but only stock 75 test cartridges; the smallest test size available. About 30-40% are utilized until tests depleted. Anesthesiologists really like them. Our POC dept. likes them as well....may be monitored from any PC and essentially no maintenance/QC.
Reply
Subgroup Membership is required to post Replies
Join POCT Listserv now
Suggested Posts
| Topic | Replies | Likes | Views | Participants | Last Reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piccolo express | 3 | 0 | 247 | ||
| Quantra | 5 | 0 | 326 | ||
| PPM Procedures/Resources | 5 | 0 | 242 |