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Repair articles

Vendor-neutral workflows for service operations, documentation, and quality.

Diagnostic TestingOct 10, 202612 min read

Spirometer Calibration Verification: Setting Up the Daily Check

Set up a reliable daily spirometer check with the right syringe, filter and sensor path, environmental entries, and a record of results and failures.

By Ran Chen

A large calibration syringe, separate round filter, and handheld spirometer beside a blank card and pen on a slate-blue workbench

Service ManagementOct 9, 202612 min read

Sending Equipment for Repair: Decontamination and Shipping Records

How to document decontamination status, follow vendor return terms, and retain a shipping record before sending medical equipment for off-site repair.

By Ran Chen

Wrapped patient monitor with foam corner protectors beside a shipping carton with a blank tag and a blank clipboard on a clinical-engineering bench

Repair OperationsOct 8, 202619 min read

Wet Packs After Sterilization: Load Problem or Service Issue?

How clinical engineering and sterile processing teams diagnose autoclave wet packs, separating load defects from equipment faults and wet steam issues.

By Ran Chen

Tabletop steam sterilizer with its door open beside a wire loading rack holding a blue wrapped pack beaded with moisture and a peel pouch standing on edge, with a blank cycle printout slip on a stainless counter

Diagnostic TestingOct 7, 202613 min read

Infant Incubator Service: What Return-to-Service Records Should Show

What infant incubator service records should show: model-specific thermal and alarm checks, independent measurements, safety actions, and release evidence.

By Ran Chen

Empty, closed-hood infant incubator on a wheeled pedestal in a clinical-engineering workshop, beside an instrument cart with a blank clipboard and dark screen.

Parts & SourcingOct 6, 202621 min read

Medical Device End of Support: What Your Service Plan Should Record

A service-planning checklist for medical equipment obsolescence: decode OEM support notices, preserve maintenance evidence, and document continued use or retirement.

By Ran Chen

An unbranded electronics module beside blank folded stationery and a clipboard holding a blank sheet on a slate-blue clinical-engineering workbench.

Diagnostic TestingOct 5, 202618 min read

Electrosurgical Unit Testing: Matching Tests to the Output Mode

Which bench tests each electrosurgical output mode needs after service, where acceptance limits come from, and what the return-to-service record must show.

By Ran Chen

Switched-off electrosurgical generator with active pencil, footswitch and coiled leads beside a compact electrosurgery analyzer on a clinical-engineering bench

Diagnostic TestingOct 4, 202617 min read

Pulse Oximeter Simulators: What a Passing Test Does Not Prove

What a passing SpO2 simulator test verifies, what it leaves unproven, and how to document the result and escalate clinical accuracy concerns.

By Ran Chen

Reusable finger-clip SpO2 sensor seated on the artificial-finger fixture of a handheld functional tester on a clinical engineering workbench

Repair OperationsOct 3, 202620 min read

Medical Suction Pump Faults: Equipment or Disposable Circuit?

Separate a running medical suction pump fault from a disposable-circuit fault with that model's own test, and stop at the qualified-service line.

By Ran Chen

Portable electric medical suction pump with analog vacuum gauge on a biomedical test bench beside a detached disposable collection canister, hydrophobic filter, and patient tubing

Preventive MaintenanceOct 2, 202622 min read

Centrifuge Maintenance: Rotor Life and Service Records

A clinical engineering guide to centrifuge preventive maintenance: navigating OEM rotor-life limits, CLIA 42 CFR 493.1254 documentation duties, and audit-ready service records.

By Ran Chen

Unmarked fixed-angle centrifuge rotor on a slate-blue service bench beside a blank tachometer, a penlight, and an open centrifuge with the lid raised

Service ManagementOct 1, 202626 min read

How to Read and Audit a Medical Equipment Calibration Certificate

A field-by-field clinical engineering guide to auditing biomedical calibration certificates, verifying SI traceability and uncertainty, and managing out-of-tolerance findings.

By Ran Chen

A biomedical test instrument and calibration certificate document on a clinical engineering workbench beside reference test equipment

Preventive MaintenanceSep 30, 202628 min read

Lab Refrigerator Alarms: Testing the Alarm, Not Just the Display

How biomedical and laboratory teams verify cold-storage alarms: testing setpoints, battery backup, and remote contacts beyond steady-state display readings.

By Ran Chen

Closed laboratory refrigerator in a clinical-engineering workshop, with a glass-bead probe bottle, an unlabeled terminal block, and a blank card on the bench

Repair OperationsSep 29, 202626 min read

Powered Exam Tables: What a Repair Handover Should Include

A clinical engineering guide to powered exam table repair handovers: operator-safe checks, fault evidence capture, Midmark 630 escalation, and return-to-service testing.

By Ran Chen