User's Manual

www.masimo.com 111 Masimo
Chapter 7: Troubleshooting
The following chapter contains information about troubleshooting the Radical-7 system.
Troubleshooting Measurements
See Parameter Related Safety Information, Warnings, and Cautions on page 11.
Signal IQ (SIQ)
The Signal IQ provides an indicator of the assessment of the confidence in the displayed
SpO2 value. The SpO2 SIQ can be also used to identify the occurrence of a patient’s pulse.
With motion, the plethysmographic waveform is often distorted and may be obscured by
artifact. Shown as a vertical line, the SpO2 SIQ coincides with the peak of an arterial
pulsation. Even with a plethysmographic waveform obscured by artifact, the Signal IQ
identifies the timing that the algorithms have determined for the arterial pulsation. The
pulse tone (when enabled) coincides with the vertical line of the SpO2 SIQ.
The height of the vertical line of the SpO2 SIQ provides an assessment of the confidence in
the measurement displayed. A high vertical bar indicates higher confidence in the
measurement. A small vertical bar indicates lower confidence in the displayed
measurement. When the Signal IQ is very low, this suggests that the accuracy of the
displayed measurement may be compromised. See About the Status Bar on page 49.
When parameters are dimly lit, proceed with caution and do the following:
• Assess the patient.
• Check the sensor and ensure proper sensor application. The sensor must be well
secured to the site for the Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeter to maintain accurate
readings. Misalignment of the sensor’s emitter and detector can result in smaller
signals and cause erroneous readings.
• Determine if an extreme change in the patient’s physiology and blood flow at the
monitoring site occurred, (e.g. an inflated blood pressure cuff, a squeezing motion,
sampling of an arterial blood specimen from the hand containing the pulse
oximetry sensor, severe hypotension, peripheral vasoconstriction in response to
hypothermia, medications, or an episode of Raynaud’s syndrome.)
• With neonates or infants, check that the peripheral blood flow to the sensor site is
not interrupted. Interruption, for example, may occur while lifting or crossing their
legs during a diaper change.
• After performing the above, if the parameter remains dimly lit frequently or
continuously, obtaining an arterial blood specimen for CO-Oximetry analysis may
be considered to verify the oxygen saturation value.
See Parameter Related Safety Information, Warnings, and Cautions on page 11.