Dräger Evita (V300/Avena): erratic touchscreen response
What happened
On this ventilator the touchscreen behaved unpredictably: presses registered in the wrong places or not at all. This appeared after the device software and the touch calibration had been lost.
What was checked
- The engineers checked whether touches landed where the corresponding controls were shown on screen, mapping the dead and misplaced zones.
- They confirmed that the device software and touch calibration had been lost and that a manufacturer-level software restore would be needed, so no panel replacement was rushed into.
Cause
The engineers found the cause was loss of the device software together with the touchscreen calibration: without calibration the touch controller mapped touch coordinates incorrectly, so the screen seemed to press itself or ignore touches.
What was done
The unit was restored with the manufacturer's software and the touchscreen was recalibrated — a procedure from the manufacturer's service documentation, done by authorised personnel. After the restore the screen responded correctly and the ventilator was returned to use; reported outcome: solved.
Safety
A ventilator must not be returned to a patient after any software work until the full manufacturer's pre-use/ventilation test and an electrical safety test have been passed.
Lesson: Erratic touch behaviour right after a software fault is more likely lost calibration than a failed panel — restore the software and recalibrate per the manufacturer's documentation before ordering parts.
Covered in the course: Ventilator Service — Level 2: Fault-Finding →
Written from an anonymised case shared by service engineers. It is not a manufacturer instruction and grants no authorisation. Independent note; names are trademarks of their owners.