• Object ID: 00000018WIA309A3870GYZ
  • Topic ID: id_40023235 Version: 1.5
  • Date: Jul 14, 2022 11:00:09 PM

GE Healthcare MR Systems Lifecycle Maintenance

GE Healthcare equipment is designed and manufactured to be of the highest quality. Likewise, the maintenance requirements in the Customer Operations Manual/User Guides, and the Customer Service Manuals, are designed to help maintain safe, high quality performance of your equipment for its expected life.

GE Healthcare Customer Operations Manual/User Guides and Service Manuals are designed with the intent that customers or service providers can utilize them to perform standard maintenance on the equipment (such as planned maintenance, which is typically time-based) without proprietary service tools or methods. Please note, alternative original equipment manufacturer planned maintenance schedules may be utilized, and other routine maintenance efficiencies may be attained, based on GE Healthcare’s (or its approved partners’) use of proprietary service tools and methods, including data analytics and back office capacity. These GE Healthcare proprietary service tools and methods accomplish the prescribed and necessary routine maintenance activities identified in the Customer Operations Manual/User Guides or Customer Service Manuals.

Maintenance and repair work shall be carried out by qualified personnel, trained in maintenance and repair of this medical device in accordance with the manufacturer’s standards within the manufacturing enterprise. Customers should contact their local GE Healthcare Service Sales if they desire to have GE Healthcare perform the PMs with the Advanced (Proprietary) Service Methods and OEM trained service team.

In addition, GEHC systems have required customer, equipment operational checks that the customer should be performing on a periodic basis to ensure correct system operation or image quality before scanning. The details can be found in the Customer Operator Manuals.

Planned maintenance schedule

Planned maintenance (PM) tasks (and recommended schedules) are developed from design requirement and operations/use assumptions to provide for the minimum maintenance needed to ensure specified equipment design performance, image quality, and safety. Specific customer requirements or site environment may necessitate more frequent PM service. Service agreements can account for increased PM frequency or additional specific tasks, but those are made with the understanding that the minimum technical PM requirements of the Service Manual are met.

The life cycle PM matrices in the Service Schedules list all the PM procedures and the recommended frequency they should be completed once the equipment is beyond GE Healthcare (GEHC) warranty. The services should be completed at the indicated intervals and should be performed only by qualified service personnel.

In software release and later, GEHC introduces the following concepts tied to your MR System planned maintenance.

A. Warranty IB PM Schedules: Warranty PM Service requirement is different than the lifecycle Out of Warranty (IBOW) PM Service requirement due to manufacturing, installation checks, the newness of the equipment in the first 12 months after install.

Warranty IB PM concept is introduced to the platform products to ensure the specified system performance and image quality for the customer, while maximizing system availability to the customer.

Warranty PM tasks and schedules ensure specified engineering operational performance throughout the warranty period in the 12 months following install, and in the equipment lifecycle after warranty. Because of the investment in installation checks, the newness of the equipment, and the other contractual service covered by the 12-month warranty period following install, the warranty PM plan allows for more customer up-time. The recommended PM tasks during the Warranty period require approximately 6 hours of applied maintenance time per year, divided into two Warranty PM schedules. The respective tasks for these schedules are included in the GEHC Service Manuals. The warranty PM is applicable only for the newer platform products.

B. Out of Warranty (IBOW) PM Schedule Concept: Once Product systems are beyond the 12 month after install warranty period, those systems adopt the lifecycle “out of warranty” (IBOW, or post-warranty) PM schedules. If the customer does not utilize a service contract, then refer to the PM schedules given in the system operator manual, see MR system PM service schedule.

For customers with GEHC service contracts, the GEHC Field Engineer will follow GEHC recommended PM tasks as per the GEHC proprietary Advanced Service Methods Manual, to include Remote system performance or condition check options that support the customer in maintaining specified performance and image quality, in concert with maximized system availability.

C. Equipment Operation Check (EOC): Magnet Rundown Unit (MRU) LED check is defined as the Equipment Operation Check (EOC) for all GEHC MR Products. EOCs are not PMs, but rather are operational checks required by both customer operators and GEHC Field engineers (if the equipment is under GEHC contract) to ensure safety or equipment performance. EOCs are typically Customer Operator procedures, and procedure or finalization procedures that a GEHC Field engineer performs (if the equipment is under GEHC contract) IF they are present on-site and have performed maintenance.