Yesterday I blogged about the small setup change that I have made that seems to have “fixed” the renowned Liberty Cycle drain alarm problem I have experienced since deploying the device last September. In review, the setup change involves holding down the toggle clamp at the bottom of the compartment where the Cassette is inserted during setup to make certain the Cassette is well-seated in the Cycler’s compartment before closing the lid. Last night makes it four-for-four with no alarms after instigating this small change.
There appears to be a design flaw in the toggle/latch mechanism. The surface of the latch that is supposed to “capture” the cassette in its grasp actually is slanted upward and out toward the lid; it should be as a minimum straight up and down, in other words, at a ninety-degree angle to the bottom leg. I’ve included a picture of this area of the cycler above with a sketch in blue above the toggle/latch depicting what a side view of it looks like. This is not conducive to firmly latching the cassette in its grip (when the door is closed) and only compounds the lack of drain operation.
Why if the cassette is not firmly snapped into place in the cycler might drain problems arise? I surmise that the two partial globes that protrude on the cassette are part of a pneumatic system that “Pumps” fluid within the system. If the cassette is not firmly latched into position, it can flex outward toward the door during pumping reducing its efficacy/efficiency which leads to less “pressure” to drain fluid resulting, as often as not, in alarms. QED
I’ll keep you posted on my results. For comparison, the longest I’ve ever experienced between nights with no alarms is eight nights. The shortest time on dialysis excluding any overhead is ten hours and nine minutes.
Leave a Reply