LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev.

E (3/98)

Chapter 8
Troubleshooting
This chapter contains troubleshooting techniques for diagnostic failures, failing quality
assurance tests, mechanical failures and imaging problems.

8.1 Diagnostic Failure Codes.........................................................................................8-1

8.2 Failing Quality Assurance Test ................................................................................8-5
8.3 Standard Positioning Problems..............................................................................8-15
8.4 Electrical Noise......................................................................................................8-21
8.5 Air Counts..............................................................................................................8-23
8.5.1 Unstable Counts..............................................................................................8-23
8.5.2 No Counts .......................................................................................................8-23
8.5.3 Decreasing Air Counts ....................................................................................8-27
8.6 Arcing ....................................................................................................................8-29
8.7 Mechanical Failures...............................................................................................8-31
8.7.1 Transverse Motion Failure...............................................................................8-31
8.7.2 Longitudinal Motion Failures............................................................................8-32
8.7.3 Limit Switch Tripped During Scan....................................................................8-34
8.8 Imaging Problems..................................................................................................8-35
8.9 Femur Scan Problems ...........................................................................................8-39
8.10 Failing Air Matrix Results .......................................................................................8-41
8.11 Indicator Failures ................................................................................................8-43
8.12 Communications Failures ......................................................................................8-45
8.13 Start Up Software ..................................................................................................8-47
8.14 Viewing Quality Assurance Trends ........................................................................8-51

Troubleshooting Chapter 8
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Chapter 8 Troubleshooting
LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.1 Diagnostic Failure Codes

The following conditions halt the operations of the scanner, and generate a diagnostic failure
message which is displayed on the monitor screen:
• transverse motion interruption,
• longitudinal motion interruption,
• Emergency Stop Button actuation,
• excessive x-ray source temperature, and
• loss of 28 volt power supply.

The following error codes are meaningful:

Diagnostic Failure # 15-4 - Transverse Motion failure

The message "Diagnostic Failure #15-4" should occur quickly after the transverse motion
ceases during a patient scan. A slotted disk at the end of the arm rotates through an infrared
beam, and pulses are sent to the OINK board when there is transverse motion. Therefore,
either the motion is stopping during a patient scan, or the electronics of the motion detection
system are not functioning.

If the transverse motion stops during the scan, see section 8.7. In Total Body scanning, a
defect in the transverse mechanics may cause one of the transverse limit switches to be closed.
Closure of a limit switch prevents further operation of the motor. The shutter will close, the
shutter open lamp will go out and the end of exposure alarm will sound. Seconds later the error
message will appear on the screen. For further information, see section 8.7.

The transverse and longitudinal motion detection system is only operational during patient
scans. If the problem occurs during a quality assurance scan, for instance, then it is probable
that the high voltage system is arcing.

If the error occurs consistently on the first line of a patient scan, and the scanner is moving in
the transverse direction, then check the following:

Remove the table top and the front panel. Verify that the slotted disk at the front of the lower
arm rail is in the middle of the slot between the photo diode and photo transistor. The slotted
disk must be completely flat and remain in the center of the sensor slot during its entire rotation.
If the slotted disk has been in contact with the optical sensor, disassemble this mechanism, and
clean the sensor and the slots of the disk.

Diagnostic Failure Codes 8-1

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

The pulses that normally enter the OINK board at J14 (the black wire at the center of the
connector) may have stopped. These pulses are necessary to keep the OINK board from
sending an interrupt to the SBC. These pulses can be seen with an oscilloscope (see figure 1).
Use a voltmeter to measure the voltage on the positive side of C16 (33 µf capacitor). This
voltage should never approach 2 Volts DC during a scan if the pulses are present to reset
U11A. If this voltage stays well below 2VDC during the scan, but the error 15 still occurs, the
interrupt was invalid. Check for arcing in the high voltage system or replace the OINK and SBC.

Diagnostic Failure # 23-3 - Longitudinal Motion failure

The pulses that normally enter the OINK board at J13 (the black wire at the center of the
connector) may have stopped. These pulses are necessary to keep the OINK board from
sending an interrupt to the SBC. These pulses can be seen with an oscilloscope (see figure 2).
Use a voltmeter to measure the voltage on the positive side of C17 (1000 µf capacitor). This
voltage should never approach 2 Volts DC during a scan if the pulses are present to reset
U11B. If this voltage stays well below 2VDC during the scan, but the error 23 still occurs, the
interrupt was invalid. Check for arcing in the high voltage system or replace the OINK and SBC.

If the longitudinal motion stops in the middle of the scan, see "Longitudinal Motion Failure" in
section 8.7.

8-2 Diagnostic Failure Codes

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Diagnostic Failure # 27-2 - Failure of the 28V power supply

Measure the output of the 28VDC power supply, and verify that it remains constant during the
voltage ramping and scanning operations.

This supply is turned on by the X-ray Relay, so verify that the Relay is closing. If not, then either
the Relay is bad or it is not receiving the signal from the SBC via the OINK (see section 4.5).
The Tube Head Thermostat is wired in series with the Relay, so if it has opened, the Relay will
not be able to close. (see Failure #30 below)

The 28VDC should also be measured at the Terminal Block. If not, check the continuity of the
wiring and refasten all connections. Also, check the wire tie-downs for excess tension they may
be putting on the wires.

It may be necessary to check the wiring from the Terminal Block to the MAX board and to the
High Voltage Power Supplies.

Diagnostic Failure # 29-1 - Emergency Stop Button is engaged

Verify that the emergency stop button is out. If it has been pressed in, press it again to release
it. If 26VDC can be measured on both pins of OINK connector J17, the Emergency Stop Switch
and the wires connecting it to the OINK board are good and the OINK board should be
replaced.

Diagnostic Failure # 30-0 - Tube Head Thermostat

There is a thermostat inside the Tube Head. This thermostat is normally closed, but opens
when the Tube Head temperature is too high. The thermostat will close again automatically
after a cool down period of usually less than 30 minutes. If 0 VDC is measured on both pins of
OINK connector J15, the Thermostat and the wires connecting it to the OINK board are good
and the OINK board should be replaced.

Diagnostic Failure # 0 or # 255 - Communication Error or Corrupt Monitor

The computer is not communicating with the SBC board (see section 8.12). Download the
latest version of the Monitor program again (see section 5.1). If this is unsuccessful, verify that
the I/O cable from the computer to the SBC Board is secure. Also, verfiy that the serial port is
set to SERIAL_2. If all fails, the SBC or computer serial port is defective.

Other Diagnostic Failure Codes

Multiple error codes are possible. These will be displayed one after the other, but the first one
displayed is probably the problem. The others are generated as a result of the first failure.

Reasons For Invalid Diagnostic Failures

Arcing of the x-ray high voltage system releases a large amount of electromagnetic energy. This
energy creates noise in the electronic circuits and may cause the SBC to do unpredictable
things, such as give invalid diagnostic errors. Arcing is usually accompanied by white, blue or
black lines across patient scans (See Arcing, section 8.6).

Diagnostic Failure Codes 8-3

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8-4 Diagnostic Failure Codes

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.2 Failing Quality Assurance Test

See the chapter in the Operator's Manual, "Running the Quality Assurance Tests", for
explanations of the various tests that are performed during the running of the Daily Quality
Assurance.

If any of the QA test results fail, none of the results are considered valid. The results will be
stored in the Quality Assurance History file (typically C:\LUNAR\ANC\DPXS.DBF), but these
values will not be averaged with the other results for calibration purposes. In addition, after two
days the operator will find messages appearing on the screen warning that no valid Quality
Assurance Test has been run within the last 48 hours. After two weeks without a valid Quality
Assurance Test, the software will prevent patient scans. Recent valid QA's are necessary for
accurate results.

Lamp Operation
Just before the QA begins, the operator is asked if the Shutter Open, X-Ray On, and Power-On
lights are illuminated. If the Green Power-On light has burned out and yet the other two lights
are lit, it is recommended to ignore the Green light and answer "yes", allowing the QA to pass.
Answering "no" will fail the QA regardless of all the other tests passing, and failed QA's are not
stored in the database.

However, it is not recommended that scanner operation be continued if the X-ray On light fails,
and the scanner will not operate if the Shutter Open light fails. These LED's are the only
indicator of exposure to x-rays and must be replaced as soon as possible.

Peak Setting
Customers will note slight fluctuations in the Peak Setting, but only a shift of >50 units in
consecutive QA's will give a "fail" evaluation. Drift in the Peak setting should be monitored by
the customer.

Background
The background test will fail if other sources of radiation are located in the room or nearby on
the other side of walls.

Verify that the lead cup is installed immediately underneath the PMT and that other sources of
radiation are not causing the failure. Any other sources of radiation in the vicinity of the scanner
which causes failure of this background measurement must be removed for proper operation of
the scanner.

Beam Stop Action

The Beam Stop Action test verifies the ability of the lead shutter to attenuate x-rays from the
tube head by verifying that the Background counts when the shutter is closed are lower than
counts taken through the brass piece with the shutter open.

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LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Spillover
An increase in the Spillover percentage over time is an indication that the PMT is losing
resolution, even if the Spillover test does not fail. Trends in excess of those specified on in
section 8.15 indicate service is required. A large change in the Spillover can be explained in
some cases by standard positioning (or a small change in the home position of the scanner). If
the beam is not fully eclipsed by the brass piece during the Spillover test, the Spillover value
increases dramatically (see section 8.3)

CHI Square
This is a statistical test to measure the spread of the Air Count data. Under normal conditions,
the number of counts obtained in a large number of samples should form a Gaussian
distribution. The Chi Square test is a measure of how the data fits to a Gaussian distribution,
based on a certain confidence factor. There is a small statistical probability that this test will fail
even though there is no problem. Rare failure of this test parameter should not cause concern.

Air Counts and Air Ratio

The most important numbers are the High and Low channel Air Counts and the Air Ratio.
During this test the baseline is established which will later be used for comparing with the values
obtained during the scan of the standard. The High and Low Air Count numbers should be
checked against the Quality Assurance history to verify that the numbers are close to numbers
obtained in the past. Care should be taken that the x-ray beam is not missing the standard, nor
being obstructed by the brass piece on the standard during the High and Low Air Count test.

The Air Ratio value should remain very constant over time. Check to see that the Air Ratio has
not varied from the value at the time of installation by +0.02 or greater. So if the Air Ratio was
0.59 at installation, then 0.58 and 0.60 are also acceptable, but 0.61 or 0.57 would be a cause
for concern.

Version 4.2a and higher software revisions have an additional test for air counts called “True Air
Ratio”. This test moves the beam off the standard block and into unobstructed air, collects data,
and calculates the count ratio. The normal air count ratio is sensitive to rollunder but not
rollover. The True Air Ratio is sensitive to rollover but not rollunder. The combination of the two
should detect any problems with the AGS system.

Air Ratio Fluctuations

If the Air Ratio printed on the Quality Assurance Test printout changes by 0.02 or more, it is a
sign that the scanner requires service. The ratio of High to Low Channel Air Counts is perhaps
the most important parameter, because the bone density measurement is based on the
changes in the ratio of High to Low Channel counts. The Air Ratio should remain constant as
long as the x-ray beam quality and the resolution of the detector remain constant. Figure 1
shows the effect of changing detector resolution on the Air Ratio of the scanner. The last points
on this graph indicate the Air Ratio of the scanner after replacement of the Scintillation Detector.

8-6 Failing Quality Assurance Test

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Unfortunately, Air Ratio changes are usually not noticed until the test results fail, and sometimes
the customer will not even notice the problem until they are warned that no valid Quality
Assurance Test has been run within the last 48 hours. Therefore, it is important that the Quality
Assurance trends be inspected during each service visit (see section 8.15).

It is not possible to view the Air Ratio trends in the Quality Assurance History file, but it is
possible to view the Low Channel Air Counts. A change in the Low Channel Air Counts will
usually be accompanied by a change in Air Ratio (see "Decreasing Air Counts" in section 8.5).
If the graph of the Low Channel Air Counts shows a trend, view the Quality Assurance History,
and calculate the initial and final Air Ratio by dividing HIGH by LOW. Compare these two
values to determine if the Air Ratio has changed 0.02 or more.

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LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

The problems which could cause a change in air ratio are:

• deterioration of the resolution of the Scintillation Detector (PMT)
• current leakage through the transorbs on the XORB board
• a faulty High Voltage Power Supply (kV unstable over time)
• changes to the x-ray tube insert

These are very difficult to diagnose by a method other than substitution of new components until
the Air Ratio returns to normal. The Scintillation Detector deterioration or unstable High Voltage
Power Supply, will usually cause the Air Matrix Scan (see section 5.1) to fail. The specification
for XORB Board transorbs is that they must allow less than 0.5 micro amperes reverse bias
current. At LUNAR, each transorb is measured by applying a 5 Volt reverse bias to the transorb
and a 100 kΩ 1% resistor connected in series. The voltage measured across the 100 kΩ
resistor must then be less than 50 mV.

Homing Problem
The scanner may not be finding the correct "Home" position. The correct "Home" position
aligns the center of the x-ray beam with the center of the Brass Piece when the Standard is
correctly positioned. The Air Counts must be obtained through the plastic part of the Standard
next to the Brass Piece. If the Air Counts are obtained with the x-ray beam passing through the
Brass Piece or missing the standard entirely, the Quality Assurance Scan will fail. For additional
information on these symptoms, see "Standard Positioning Problems", section 8.3.

Transverse or Longitudinal Mechanics

Failure of this test is caused by one or more of the following:
• Incorrect Limit Switch positioning
• Defective Limit Switch
• A mechanical constraint
• A defective Motor
• A defective Centent Motor Controller

The values recorded for these tests should remain fairly constant over time. Variations between
QA's of under 25 steps should not be a cause for concern as 1 transverse step = 0.05 mm and
1 longitudinal step = 0.1 mm, so the actual variation is only a few millimeters.

If the number of steps continually increases from QA to QA, this could indicate an impediment to
the scanner's motion and should be rectified.

Tissue Value
The tissue value should not be the sole failing parameter. The failure of this test is usually
accompanied by problems with Bone Mineral values (see below) or Air Ratio trends (see
above). If this is failing alone it is probably a problem with the counting system (Detector, AGS
or DCA's).

8-8 Failing Quality Assurance Test

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Bone Mineral of the Standard Chambers

There are two messages which can be displayed below the table at the bottom of the Quality
Assurance Results printout. The software contains values which it expects the scanner to
measure for the scan of each chamber. If the mean of the BM measurements made for the
chamber does not fall within the predefined software limits the message "Mean standard value
deviates from expected" will occur. If the percent coefficient of variance is over 2%, the
message "Variability in standard results is high" will appear. These messages will always occur
if the Air Counts or Air Ratio test has deviated severely from normal results. However if the Air
Count results look normal, and the values are approximately equal to the numbers obtained
during the scanner installation, then the counts may be unstable.

Another cause of failing %CV can be arcing during the QA. This can be detected by examining
the QA History graphically and looking for variation of the Large BM values (see Figures 1 and 2
below). Note the few data points that vary. These are the early signs of arcing.

This will also be apparent (but not obvious) on the QA Results printout. The arc occurred in the
third standard scan line and elevated the BM values. If a customer reports a failing QA because
of a %CV being too high, be aware that this could be an early warning of arcing. Obtain from
the site the DPXS.DBF file for analysis. Look for variation of the Large BM values. Arcs of
greater magnitude can also affect more than one line of the standard scan.

It is very important to notice these early warning signs of arcing so that the system can be re-
greased before any damage is done to the high voltage cable connectors or the tube head.

Failing Quality Assurance Test 8-9

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Limits

Test Lower Limit Upper Limit

Peak Setting -50 from last QA +50 from last QA

Background (Low keV) 0 50

(High keV) 0 50

Beam Stop Action - -

Percent Spillover 6.3 10.0 (9.0 to 10.0 is sub-

standard)

Chi Square 0 40

Air Counts (Low keV) 450,000 cps 900,000 cps

(High keV) 270,000 cps 630,000 cps

Air Ratio .50 .70

Transverse Mechanics 12350 (DPX-IQ240) 12550 (DPX-IQ240)

10700 (DPX-IQ180) 10900 (DPX-IQ180)

Longitudinal Mechanics 19700 (DPX-IQ240) 19800 (DPX-IQ240)

13250 (DPX-IQ180) 13350 (DPX-IQ180)

Tissue Value 1.302 1.320

Collimation Ratio 3.5 4.5

%CV 0.00 2.00

8-10 Failing Quality Assurance Test

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Symptoms of High and Low KV

It has been noted in a small number of cases that defective high voltage power supplies, or an
arcing tube head may produce a voltage other than 76 kV. This is possible because once
ramping is complete, the SBC does not adjust the kV any further.

In the first example of low kV (see Figure 4), defective power supplies are most likely
responsible.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 29555 390
300 39718 554
T
350 40026 1312
S 400 36234 6506
450 48899 22634
500 67661 38630
550 68608 41050
600 49011 34429
650 26595 42352
700 11142 60496
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 4269 70912

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 535 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 1 cps Pass
(High keV) 0 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 8.56% Pass
Chi Square 4 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 732592 cps Pass
(High keV) 279669 cps Pass
Air Ratio 0.38 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12399/12401 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19755 /19754 steps Pass
Tissue Value 1.305 Pass
Collimation Ratio 3.784 Pass

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 260.9 264.0 262.4 259.5 260.1 261.4 1.64 0.63
WIDTH 503 507 507 498 503 504 3.32 0.66
MEDIUM BM 192.7 194.6 193.7 194.6 194.3 194.0 0.73 0.37
WIDTH 437 437 436 433 434 435 1.62 0.37
SMALL BM 137.7 138.5 139.6 137.5 138.6 138.4 0.73 0.53
WIDTH 370 370 374 369 369 370 1.85 0.50

Failing Quality Assurance Test 8-11

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

In the case of high voltage (Figure 5), an arcing tube head is the most likely cause although
defective power supplies could cause this as well.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 87594 1747
300 97331 2522
T
350 78506 9101
S 400 54877 34186
450 59094 75590
500 76557 96291
550 78016 80230
600 55782 53878
650 31110 53238
700 13338 72266
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 4963 80477

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 500 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 2 cps Pass
(High keV) 1 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 7.12% Pass
Chi Square 2 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 816197 cps Pass
(High keV) 692936 cps Fail
Air Ratio 0.85 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12398/12400 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19752 /19754 steps Pass
Tissue Value 1.309 Pass
Collimation Ratio 3.806 Pass

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 261.0 261.6 261.9 263.6 262.5 262.1 0.87 0.33
WIDTH 493 495 495 495 494 494 0.80 0.16
MEDIUM BM 196.1 195.4 196.9 195.0 195.2 195.7 0.71 0.36
WIDTH 425 423 427 425 424 425 1.33 0.31
SMALL BM 140.7 139.4 139.5 140.0 139.3 139.8 0.53 0.38
WIDTH 362 358 359 360 358 359 1.50 0.42

8-12 Failing Quality Assurance Test

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

NOTE: It would be prudent in both of these cases to take a positive and negative power
supply, AND a tube head. Also, the XORB test points may look normal
(indicating 76 KV) in each case as well. This usually occurs where the power
supplies are defective and so the monitor voltages returned to the XORB may not
show the true voltage. When the tube head arcs causing the voltage to go too
high, then the XORB test points may indeed show the actual voltages.

The clearest indicators of these problems are the shape of the Peak, the Air Counts, and Air
Ratio. Note how these differ from cases where the standard block is positioned incorrectly (see
section 8.3).

Figure 4 was run at 72 kV; Figure 5 was run at 80 kV.

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8-14 Failing Quality Assurance Test

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8.3 Standard Positioning Problems

Problems with failing Daily Quality Assurance (QA) Tests can sometimes be associated with
improper placement of the standard block. The following QA results printouts illustrate various
positions of the standard:

Example 1
Figure 1is a normal passing QA with the standard block properly placed.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 57094 819
300 66867 1197
T
350 55651 4448
S 400 44925 21091
450 55571 47504
500 74150 65117
550 72234 57322
600 49440 43568
650 24787 50211
700 10848 68470
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 4096 75642

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 510 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 1 cps Pass
(High keV) 1 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 7.59% Pass
Chi Square 6 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 789683 cps Pass
(High keV) 457478 cps Pass
Air Ratio 0.58 Pass
Transverse Mechanics 12398/12400 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19755 /19755 steps Pass
Tissue Value 1.309 Pass
Collimation Ratio 3.799 Pass

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 264.6 265.2 265.4 264.4 264.7 264.9 0.35 0.13
WIDTH 499 502 505 500 502 502 2.06 0.41
MEDIUM BM 199.3 197.5 196.8 195.8 197.0 197.3 1.13 0.57
WIDTH 432 430 428 428 428 429 1.60 0.37
SMALL BM 142.7 140.4 140.0 141.3 142.0 141.3 0.98 0.70
WIDTH 364 362 361 364 364 363 1.26 0.35

Standard Positioning Problems 8-15

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Example 2
Figure 2 is a QA in which the standard was not on the table. Note the errant Spillover value and
Air Counts (the Low KeV counts indicates the counters rolled over). In this case Spillover will
usually be approximately 110%. However, this is unpredictable as individual AGS boards try to
handle the superimposed signals from the unattenuated x-ray beam.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 283312 46448
300 293533 62419
T
350 261792 107250
S 400 281987 190755
450 352064 273731
500 374781 287616
550 311120 259901
600 204298 276326
650 116512 344339
700 64794 380410
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 40192 337149

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 495 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 2 cps Pass
(High keV) 0 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 129.64% Fail
Chi Square 6 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 14087 cps Fail
(High keV) 3593432 cps Fail
Air Ratio 255.10 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12398/12401 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19755 /19755 steps Pass
Tissue Value 3.350 Fail
Collimation Ratio 2.119 Fail

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 61.7 44.6 90.0 35.6 70.4 60.51 19.21 31.772
WIDTH 53 61 85 62 70 66 10.83 16.36 2
MEDIUM BM 6.5 49.2 35.1 38.7 27.5 31.41 14.26 45.44
WIDTH 42 71 47 42 65 53 12.21 22.86 2
SMALL BM 47.7 1.3 38.2 78.5 33.3 39.81 24.84 62.38
WIDTH 42 42 58 112 43 59 26.99 45.44

1 - Mean standard value deviates from expected.

2 - Variability in standard results is high.

8-16 Standard Positioning Problems

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Example 3
Figure 3 is a QA run with the standard upside down and backwards. Spillover was measured
through the white delrin plastic plug and Tissue Value was measured through the brass
Spillover piece.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 58074 925
300 66726 1315
T
350 55702 4397
S 400 45568 21466
450 56755 50368
500 73466 65661
550 71539 57549
600 48643 42989
650 24173 50483
700 9754 68138
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 3837 74771

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 515 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 0 cps Pass
(High keV) 0 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 95.40% Fail
Chi Square 5 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 143640 cps Fail
(High keV) 455003 cps Pass
Air Ratio 3.17 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12398/12401 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19755 /19754 steps Pass
Tissue Value 1.599 Fail
Collimation Ratio 2.389 Fail

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
1
LARGE BM 1974.4 1986.7 1968.4 1966.0 1983.2 1975.8 8.10 0.41
WIDTH 385 390 379 383 382 384 3.66 0.95
MEDIUM BM 2357.7 2362.0 2359.0 2343.3 2340.1 2352.41 8.90 0.38
WIDTH 450 447 451 449 454 450 2.32 0.51
SMALL BM 2746.2 2755.5 2729.8 2741.3 2728.9 2742.31 8.44 0.31
WIDTH 526 523 518 520 519 521 2.93 0.56

1 - Mean standard value deviates from expected.

Standard Positioning Problems 8-17

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Example 4
Misplacing the standard by approximately 1" toward the foot end will give results as in figure 4.
Spillover is measured through the air and the Air Counts and Peak are measured through the
brass.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 2224 3
300 2390 10
T
350 1523 144
S 400 486 909
450 150 1824
500 173 2285
550 154 1996
600 80 678
650 70 240
700 26 176
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 3 154

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 510 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 1 cps Pass
(High keV) 1 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 129.84% Fail
Chi Square 3 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 318 cps Fail
(High keV) 14625 cps Fail
Air Ratio 45.93 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12399/12401 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19754 /19754 steps Pass
Tissue Value -0.623 Fail
Collimation Ratio 2.123 Fail

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 0.2 0.1 -0.4 1.6 4.1 1.11 1.61 142.442
WIDTH 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.00 0.00 2
MEDIUM BM 0.2 0.1 -0.4 1.6 4.1 1.11 1.61 142.44
WIDTH 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.00 0.00
SMALL BM 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.01 0.00 0.00
WIDTH -48 -40 -22 -13 -13 -27 14.33 0.00

1 - Mean standard value deviates from expected.

2 - Variability in standard results is high.

8-18 Standard Positioning Problems

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Example 5
The QA in figure 5 is what would happen in the rare instance that someone would inadvertently
remove the standard during the QA (after the Peak) and then replace it having realized the QA
was in progress (after the Tissue Value Test). Although the five lines are scanned across the
block as normal, the errant Air Counts will cause the BM values and widths to deviate from
expected.

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 57565 768
300 66736 1245
T
350 56262 4445
S 400 44794 21453
450 56982 49398
500 75050 66630
550 73011 57766
600 49197 43491
650 25197 50310
700 10186 69146
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 3846 75318

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 515 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 1 cps Pass
(High keV) 1 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 129.66% Fail
Chi Square 1 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 318 cps Fail
(High keV) 3605174 cps Fail
Air Ratio 11322.78 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12398/12401 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19756 /19754 steps Pass
Tissue Value 1.264 Fail
Collimation Ratio 2.127 Fail

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.21 0.2 10.912
WIDTH 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.00 0.00
MEDIUM BM 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.21 0.2 10.912
WIDTH 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.00 0.00
SMALL BM 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.21 0.2 10.912
WIDTH 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.00 0.00

1 - Mean standard value deviates from expected.

2 - Variability in standard results is high.

Standard Positioning Problems 8-19

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Example 6
Placing the standard backwards with the brass piece toward the rear and the delrin plug
forward, yet both toward the foot end, will result in Spillover and Tissue Value being taken
through the black plastic of the block and Air Counts and Peak are taken through the delrin plug
(see figure 6).

QUALITY ASSURANCE RESULTS

X-Ray Voltage (kVp) 76.0 Date 02/05/96

X-Ray Current (mA) 150.0 System 0

DETECTOR

C AMPLIFIER COUNTS COUNTS

O SETTING LOW keV HIGH keV
U
N 250 40941 480
300 47661 579
T
350 40710 2317
S 400 30253 13773
450 34890 34957
500 44995 47395
550 43933 40989
600 29830 29962
650 14794 31216
700 5702 41411
AMPLIFIER SETTING 750 2272 45334

PROCEDURE VALUE EVALUATION

Lights - Pass
Peak Setting 515 units Pass
Background (Low keV) 1 cps Pass
(High keV) 0 cps Pass
Beam Stop Action - Pass
Percent Spillover 115.22% Fail
Chi Square 2 Pass
Air Counts (Low keV) 318 cps Fail
(High keV) 316090 cps Pass
Air Ratio 992.74 Fail
Transverse Mechanics 12398/12400 steps Pass
Longitudinal Mechanics 19753 /19754 steps Pass
Tissue Value 0.203 Fail
Collimation Ratio 5.601 Fail

1 2 3 4 5 MEAN SD %CV
LARGE BM 5.0 592.9 621.3 -5.8 645.3 371.71 304.35 81.872
WIDTH 42 400 493 42 454 286 201.5670.43 2
MEDIUM BM 12.0 717.8 657.3 687.4 728.3 560.51 275.41 49.13
WIDTH 42 501 485 502 533 413 185.9545.07 2
SMALL BM -0.2 898.3 109.3 95.0 55.2 231.51 335.55 144.94
WIDTH 42 608 94 76 46 173 218.25 126.01

1 - Mean standard value deviates from expected.

2 - Variability in standard results is high.

If a customer reports a QA failure on a scanner that seemed to be operating fine and showed no
signs of mechanical problems while running the QA, the QA results should be examined for
characteristics like the above examples. Ask the customer to check the position of the standard
if it is still on the table, or have them rerun the QA making sure the block is placed correctly.

8-20 Standard Positioning Problems

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.4 Electrical Noise

If the Low Air Count numbers have suddenly increased or decreased by over 100,000 counts,
this may be the result of noise on the AMP-04 signal when it reaches the DCA. If the noise has
been amplified to the 1.25V needed to be counted as a Low Channel signal, each noise spike
will be counted in addition to the normal Low Air Counts. The possibility of noise problems in
the scanner has been virtually eliminated by placing the AMP-03 very close to the Scintillation
Detector. However, these symptoms could result from a broken or partially connected coaxial
cable in any one of the coaxial cables between the Scintillation Detector and the AGS.

Check the signal at TP4 of the AGS board with an oscilloscope. Look for noise on the wave
form. This test-point is the input for the AGS, so noise here means a problem somewhere
towards the PMT. Also, check TP19 on the AGS with an oscilloscope. This is the output of the
AGS and would be a good indication of the AGS board's condition. If a storage oscilloscope is
used to look at these wave forms, they will look similar to the channel 1 signal (see Figure 1). If
a normal oscilloscope is used, the signal will appear as a superimposed multitude of bipolar
signals with different amplitudes.

If the TP19 wave form looks abnormal, replace either the AGS or the AGSDCA printed circuit
board assemblies. If the spare part is not immediately available, then disconnect J8 on the AGS
and run a calibration. This will run the signal through the AGS at unity gain. If normal results
reappear after this modification, the cause of the problem is confined to a defective AGS or
AGSDCA board.

Electrical Noise 8-21

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY

8-22 Electrical Noise

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.5 Air Counts

8.5.1 Unstable Counts

To examine the scanner's ability to count detector pulses consistently over longer periods of
time, run the Air Matrix option from the DIAGS program. If time permits, use the default
parameters and begin the scan. A smaller scan area can be done by selecting fewer Scan
Lines and Scan Points. (See "Performing an Air Matrix Test" in section 5.1 and "Failing Air
Matrix Results" in section 8.10.)

If the "End of Exposure Alarm" rings during the time the Air Matrix scan is running, see "Alarm
Pings During Scan" in section 8.11. If the Shutter Open or the X-ray On lamps on the front
panel blink, during the test, see section 8.11 also.

While the Air Matrix scan is running, measure the voltage at test points 1, 2, 5 and 6 of the
XORB board. They should have approximately the following values respectively: -
0.150VDC, 3.8VDC, 0.150VDC, and 3.8VDC. A pure DC voltage on an oscilloscope at test
point 1 and 5 of the XORB will verify that there is constant current through the filament of the X-
ray Insert. If there is AC ripple in excess of 0.2 Vpp, the power supplies should be replaced.

Start and stop the x-rays several times while observing the voltage at TP3 and TP7 of the
XORB board. This is the programming voltage from the SBC, and although this voltage is
dependent on the feedback information returned to the SBC, the voltages at the XORB board
test points should be approximately the same each time the x-rays are produced. The AC ripple
on this signal must be less than 0.2 Vpp. Replace the SBC board if the proper control signal is
not present.

When the x-rays are off between scans, verify that the shutter and collimator slide apertures line
up with the aperture to the Tube Head beneath. Take some alignment pictures and verify that
the image is a bright, round image. If the image is slightly elliptical, the collimator, shutter and
Tube Head apertures are not aligned. Open and close the shutter and collimator to make sure
that they return to the same position each time. Turn the x-rays back on, and make sure that
you obtain nearly the same count rate each time the shutter is opened or the collimator is
cycled. Either the shutter or the collimator slide may be adjusted by loosening the set screw on
the solenoid mounting bracket and rotating the solenoid. Tighten the set screw after
adjustment.

8.5.2 No Counts
When the table to the right of the peak graph on the Quality Assurance Results printout is
entirely filled with zeros, use the Static Counter program in the Diagnostics (see section 5.1) to
create x-rays at 76 kV and 150 uA and open the Shutter for sampling. Then check the following
items :

Air Counts 8-23

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

I. Is the amber X-ray On LED illuminated?

A. If it is, skip to part II.

B. If not, the voltage or current ramping has probably failed. Are both the red and
green LED's on the MAX Board illuminated?

1. Voltage or Current Ramping Failures

If not, is the red LED illuminated?

a. X-ray Relay or OINK

If not, measure the output of the 28 Volt Power Supply. Check
the operation of the X-ray Relay or the OINK Board which controls
its operation. If all of the above are working, the red LED may be
defective.

b. MAX Board Fuse

If so, the fuse is blown on the MAX Board (see section 8.9).

2. If the red and green MAX Board LED's are illuminated, verify the following
test point voltages:

a. Current Ramping Failure

XORB TP1 is approximately 0.150 VDC. If incorrect, go to step d.
If this test point is correct, verify that XORB TP5 is also
approximately 0.150 VDC. If this voltage is incorrect, substitute a
new Positive High Voltage Power Supply.

b. Voltage Ramping Failure

XORB TP2 and XORB TP6 are approximately 3.8 VDC. If these
voltages are incorrect, verify that the voltages on XORB TP3 and
XORB TP7 are approximately 3.8 VDC. If TP3 and TP7 are not
equal the XORB jumper at J26 is set in the wrong position. If they
are equal but incorrect, test the cable from the SBC to XORB, or
substitute a new SBC Board.

c. X-ray On LED
Test the X-Ray On LED by inserting it into the Power On
receptacle. Replace if defective.

d. High Voltage System

Current ramping has failed. If TP1 and TP5 are zero and do not
change, check the polarity of the High Voltage Cables. The X-ray
Insert is essentially a diode, and will not conduct current from the
anode to the cathode.

If either of the test points is at 1.0 VDC, the High Voltage Power
Supply is delivering as much current as it possibly can, and has
automatically limited the voltage.

8-24 Air Counts

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Check TP2 and TP6. If the voltage is approximately 3.8 VDC, the
voltage has been set properly.

Feel the heat sinks on the back of the High Voltage Power
Supplies. If one of the power supplies is cold, this is usually the
defective one. If one is warm and the other is hot, replace the hot
one. The best troubleshooting technique may be to substitute
power supplies.

If either TP2 or TP6 are incorrect, the possibility exists that one of
the High Voltage Cables or the Tube Head is shorted. The short
may be possible to find with an ohm meter, but often it takes
several kV to break down the defective component. It will be
difficult to troubleshoot this problem by any method other than part
substitution.

CAUTION: Do not attempt to ramp the power supply above 50 kv without a

cable connected, or arcing will occur near the connector.

Ramping between 40 and 50 kV is a good way to determine

whether the power supplies are able to increase voltage from 0 to
50 kV.

II. Detection Electronics Problem

Are the yellow and green LED's on the AGS Board illuminated?

A. Defective DCA or SBC

If so, check the signals at DCA-TP3 (see channel 1, figure 1) and at DCA-TP17
(see channel 2, figure 2). If neither signal is present, check the cable from the
AGS to the DCA. If the signal at TP3 is present but no signal is present at TP17,
replace the DCA. If both signals are correct, replace the SBC or the cable
connecting the DCA and SBC.

Air Counts 8-25

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

B. No AGS Yellow or Green LED's

If the AGS green and yellow LED's are out, turn off the scanner, and remove the
arm panel and the AMP enclosure. Set a voltmeter on the highest scale (at least
1000 VDC) and clip the positive lead onto AMP-TP1. (It is recommended that a
voltmeter with clip on probes be used. If this test point is shorted to ground
during the measurement, AMP-U1 will be destroyed.)

CAUTION: Never disconnect any connectors from the AMP board when the
power is on, or AMP-U1 will be destroyed.

1. Defective AMP Board

If TP1 on the AMP board is between +600 to +900 VDC when the
scanner is turned on, then turn the power off, and remove the voltmeter
probes. Power up the scanner and begin sampling with the Diagnostic
program. Check the signal at AMP-TP6. This signal should be similar to
the Channel 1 signal in figure 2. If there is no signal, substitute the AMP
Board, detector, or the connecting cable. Usually a defective AMP Board
has a defective U1, and when these fail, they are usually hot enough to
blister a finger.

WARNING: Do not touch U1 on a defective AMP board to avoid blistering.

If there is a signal, check the continuity of the coaxial cable with the
yellow strain reliefs. Remember that this cable passes through a
connector at the Arm Bulkhead, and a poor connection there could be the
cause of the problem.

8-26 Air Counts

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

2. No PMT High Voltage

If TP1 is not in the +600 to +900 Volt range, check SBC-TP18 which is a
monitor output from the Bertan PMT-10A reading 1 mV for each Volt of
output. If it looks like the power supply output is correct, check the
coaxial cable with the orange strain relief for continuity. Remember that
this cable passes through a connector at the Arm Bulkhead and may
have a loose connection at this point. If SBC-TP18 is not in the range of
0.600 - 0.900 Volt, check TP20 on the SBC. If TP20 is not between 5 and
8 VDC, substitute the SBC. If Tp20 is between 5 and 8 VDC, substitute
the Bertan PMT-10A power supply and the connecting cable until the
defective part is discovered.

8.5.3 Decreasing Air Counts

A long term, continuous decrease in the Air Counts unaccompanied by a change in Air Ratio is
a serious problem. A count rate of at least 500,000 Low Channel Air Counts is necessary to
maintain precision of results when scanning thick patients. Air Count values should change by
less than 10% from the day of installation. The possible causes are:

I. Collimator/Shutter/Tube Head Alignment

The Collimator and the Shutter, or the shutter aperture and the Tube Head opening may
be changing their positions relative to one another. The result would be a smaller beam
over time, and therefore, lower counts. Check this alignment as follows :

Mark the position of the large and small collimator apertures on the slide channel
edge. Then lift the Collimator, taking care not to damage the limit switch, and
mark the open and close position of the shutter aperture center. Lift the shutter
slide, taking care not to damage the limit switch, and visually determine if the
apertures above match up with the bottom aperture.

Take another picture with the alignment film holder. The x-ray image should be
round. If the image is even slightly elliptical, the apertures are not aligned.

Remove the Collimator assembly from the Tube Head, and hold it up to a light.
Look through the aperture with the Shutter open and closed and the Collimator in
each position.

II. Lead Filings - Shutter/Collimator Wear

A rough edge around the shutter aperture may be wearing away the lead on the
collimator slide above. The lead filings fall through the shutter aperture and gather on
the filter below, causing a reduction in x-rays over time. The collimator and shutter
slides may be rotated back (taking care not to damage the limit switches) in order to
perform an inspection. Any wear should be easily visible on the underside of the
collimator slide. If there is visible wear, the lead dust must be removed from the top of
the filter. The Collimator assembly must be removed, the filter cleaned, and then the
Collimator assembly reinstalled and realigned.

Air Counts 8-27

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

III. A Change in Current Control Settings

Use the Static Counter option of the Diagnostic Program to produce x-rays. Select 76
kV and 750 µA operation. Do not open the Shutter.

Verify that the SBC is properly controlling the current. TP11 of the MAX board should be
approximately 0.75 volts. This voltage is dependent on feedback information from the
power supplies, which makes it difficult to troubleshoot by any means other than SBC
substitution.

Check the current through the X-ray Insert. The absolute value of the voltage at test points 1
and 5 on the XORB board is proportional to the current through the X-ray Insert. 1 millivolt is
equal to 1 micro-ampere of current. A current setting of 750 µA should give a reading of 0.750
VDC at test points 1 and 5. If either of these voltages vary from the expected by more than 10
millivolts, the MAX board could be at fault. If TP1 and TP5 are more than 15 millivolts apart,
substitute new high voltage power supplies.

8-28 Air Counts

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.6 Arcing
The X-ray Tube Head Insert is an evacuated glass enclosure. An AC current is applied to the
filament inside the insert. It glows like the filament in a light bulb, and electrons are boiled off
into the evacuated space. A high voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode
causing electrons to rush toward the anode, striking it and creating x-rays. As long as the insert
is properly evacuated, there can be no internal arc. However, no insert can be totally evacuated
and impurities can be ionized creating a lightning like effect; arcing. During the arc the
resistance of the insert is dramatically decreased and a large amount of current flows.

The significant amounts of electromagnetic energy released inside the scanner can cause
problems with the electronics of the scanner system and may result in abnormal operations of
the scanner. An arcing scanner will have one or more of the following symptoms :
• complete lock up of the system requiring rebooting the computer,
• a diagnostic error code message which is undefined or inappropriate,
• receiving a screen that says an error has occurred refer to appendix I in the manual,
• a stripe or artifact in the image of the patient's scan, or
• 15-4 Transverse Motion Failure message.

To specifically locate the source of an arc, it is necessary to find out which high voltage power
supply provides the excessive current. This may be done by recording the power supply current
monitors at TP1 and TP5 of the XORB board with a storage oscilloscope. An arc typically
draws 1.5 mA from the power supply for about 1 ms. The trigger voltage should therefore be
set at 1.5V for TP1 and for TP5.

Arcing can also occur inside the high voltage connectors. This will usually result in a plainly
visible black or brown carbon track through the grease on the connector. In any case, once the
high voltage connectors have been removed from the Tube Head and the power supplies, they
should not be re-connected without first being cleaned and regreased (see procedure
DXSV0002 in chapter 6 appendix).

After cleaning the old grease off of the connectors, they should be carefully inspected for carbon
tracks. Look for these tracks on both the rubber cable connectors and on the phenolic sockets
of the Tube Head. If such tracks are found after cleaning, the following are the options for
returning the scanner to service:

If carbon tracks are found on the rubber cable connectors, they can be removed by excising the
damaged section with a sharp blade. Severe tracks can burn quite deep into the rubber, so
care must taken to remove all the damaged rubber. After the carbon tracks have been
removed, additional grease must be used when repacking the connection to fill in the volume of
the removed rubber.

If the above procedure requires too much rubber to be removed, or the carbon track looks very
severe, another option is to replace the high voltage cable.

Arcing 8-29
LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Arc tracks will be impossible to see on the sockets in the Tube Head. Therefore, if arc tracks
are seen on the rubber cable connectors, the sockets should be sanded with emory cloth as a
precaution. After sanding the socket, remember to flush the socket with cleaning solution to
remove any particles.

If the tracking inside the socket is too severe or the carbon track cannot be removed, another
option is to replace the Tube Head.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMOVE ANY CARBON TRACKS ON THESE SURFACES!

Carbon tracks that are simply covered by grease or not completely removed will still provide a
path for arcs to follow.

8-30 Arcing
LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.7 Mechanical Failures

8.7.1 Transverse Motion Failure

Turn off the power to the scanner and move the affected parts by hand. Feel the motion for
spots where the carriages are more difficult to move. Listen for unusual noises.

High Voltage Cable Routing

One of the most common problems is a failure of the Source and Detector to reach the rear
Limit Switch due to the Tube Head running into its own high voltage cables. These cables must
have a hump formed at the Rear Longitudinal Carriage that allows the lower portion of the Tube
Head to pass under the cables.

The High Voltage Cables can also impede transverse motion toward the front Limit Switch. This
is caused when the cables have been tied down without enough play for the Tube Head and
Detector to move all the way forward. These problems should be investigated by manually
tripping both Limit Switches while inspecting for cable conflicts, binding, or tension problems.

Gear And Pulley Positioning

Check all appropriate gears and pulleys. Verify that the set screws are tightened and the gears
and pulleys are not out of position.

Limit Switch Positioning

If the transverse motion seems to be acceptable, but the number of steps in the Quality
Assurance Test is failing, check the position of the Limit Switches.

On Total Body scans, a limit switch out of position could allow the Source/Detector Carriages to
hit the frame or panels before the Limit Switch is actuated.

Wiring
In rare instances, the wires from the Shutter Solenoid and/or Fans can snag on the bolts that
protrude through the frame on the foot end of the scanner. This is solved by properly tying
down these wires.

Transverse Motor
Check the Transverse Motor for a broken wire in one of the internal coils, or a bad electrical
connection to its Centent Motor Controller.

Transverse Centent
The Centent Motor Controller, if defective, will cause transverse motion problems. Sometimes
the controller works well enough to acquire some scans, but it will not provide enough torque to
complete every fast scan. The CURRENT SET voltage at terminal 11 on a properly operating
controller should be 14 to 16 VDC (transverse motor wired in parallel).

Mechanical Failures 8-31

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Transverse Belt
The Transverse Belt should not be excessively tightened or this will cause excessive binding in
the transverse mechanism. It should be possible to deflect the belt by 4 cm when it is properly
tightened. Sometimes the spare belt material near the clamp on the Tube Head Carriage
comes into contact with the forward gear and prevents the scanner from going all the way to
Home position.

Drive Wheels
The wheels that support the Tube Head and Detector Carriages must be adjusted so that they
come into perfect contact with the Transverse Rails. These wheel are best inspected with the
table top, front panel and arm covers off so one can sight down the extrusions. However, it is
possible to test the wheels by preventing any wheel from turning and seeing if the carriage will
still move. By preventing any wheel from turning, you should be able to tell that it slides along
the extrusion while the others roll. This indicates that the wheel has not been excessively
tightened down. This is least likely to be the source of transverse motion problems, as it is
unlikely that the adjustment of the wheels would have become any tighter over time. They
would be more likely to loosen over time and fail alignment tests (see Air Matrix Test, section
5.1). Adjustments can be made by loosening and rotating the eccentric bearings of any of the
lower wheels.

8.7.2 Longitudinal Motion Failures

Turn off the power to the scanner and move the affected parts by hand. Feel the motion for
spots where the arm is more difficult to move. Listen for unusual noises. NOTE: When moving
the arm longitudinally, only push on the arm column. Pushing on the forward parts of the arm
can ruin Tube Head/Detector alignment.

Cable Track
The major impediment to longitudinal motion is the plastic Cable Track that runs through the
trough at the rear of the scanner.

This track is attached at two points: at the Rear Longitudinal Carriage and to the scanner frame
(low, rear and center) each spot by 4 bolts. Also, adequate slack must be left in the cables
inside the Cable Track or they will stop the arm from moving fully to the foot end.

Should the Cable Track detach from the scanner frame, it will slide freely in the trough and will
eventually cause trouble. This can allow the Cable Track to get in between the Rear
Longitudinal Carriage and the scanner frame on the foot end preventing the tripping of the limit
switch.

Tube Head Cable Routing

Problems at the head end of the scanner can be caused by a limit switch being out of position
(thus the arm runs into the frame before the Limit Switch) or because the High Voltage Cables
are tied down incorrectly where they snake around from the Rear Longitudinal Carriage to the
panel under the Tube Head (High Voltage Cable Trough). If the cables are tied down too far
toward the head end (at the point where the three tie downs are), they can run into the
Longitudinal Motor Assembly and hold the arm away from the head end Limit Switch.

8-32 Mechanical Failures

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Slip Clutch
A slip clutch is part of the longitudinal motion system to limit torque. This is a feature to protect
the patient should he/she pinch an arm or leg between the back side of the scanner and the
Arm Column. If the Slip Clutch is set too loose, it will fail to move the belt and will just "slip" as
the motor turns. This may produce the following symptoms:
• failure of Quality Assurance scan Mechanics test
• compressed image in limited areas of the image
• a Diagnostic Failure #23-3

Gear and Pulley Positioning

Check all appropriate gears and pulleys. Verify that the set screws are tightened and the gears
and pulleys are not out of position.

Limit Switch Positioning

If the longitudinal motion seems to be acceptable, but the number of steps in the Quality
Assurance Test is failing, check the position of the Limit Switches.

On Total Body scans, a limit switch out of position could allow the Source/Detector Carriages to
hit the frame or panels of the scanner before the Limit Switch.

If the mechanical stop is reached before the Limit Switch is actuated, check carefully to see
which part of the Arm Assembly is in contact with the Table Assembly. The front part of the
Lower Transverse Extrusion is clamped to the Longitudinal Drive Cable at the front of the
scanner. If the Lower Transverse Extrusion is not clamped in such a way that it forms a 90
degree angle with the length of the table, the rollers at the front end of the Lower Transverse
Extrusion may strike the end of the scan table before the Limit Switch is actuated.

Longitudinal Motor
Check the motor for a broken wire in one of the internal coils, or a bad electrical connection to
the Centent Motor Controller.

Longitudinal Centent
The longitudinal Centent Motor Controller may be the cause of a failure. The current set voltage
should be roughly 9-11 volts at terminal 11 on a properly operating controller. If this voltage is
not correct, replace the Centent Controller.

Longitudinal Belt
The Longitudinal Belt should not be tightened too much or this will cause the brackets holding
the gears to deform at either end of the scanner. When the belt is properly tightened, it should
be possible to deflect the upper and lower sides of the belt so that they touch within 8 cm of the
gears at either end.

Mechanical Failures 8-33

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Drive Wheels
The rollers in front and the wheels in back that support the Arm must be adjusted so that they
come into perfect contact with the Longitudinal Rails. Test them by preventing any wheel from
turning and see if the carriage will still move. By preventing any wheel from turning, it should be
possible to slide the carriage along the rail with one wheel dragging while the others roll. This
indicates that the wheel has not been excessively tightened down. Adjustments can be made
by loosening and rotating the eccentric bearings of any of the lower wheels.

8.7.3 Limit Switch Tripped During Scan

If a Limit Switch is tripped during an install test, verify the Limit Switches' location with the Tools
Diskette. If this problem occurs any time after install, see the problem description below.

If the transverse mechanics of the scanner become imprecise, it may cause a Limit Switch to be
tripped during a scan. This will usually only happen during a total body scan or during an Air
Matrix test since both of these scans involve full-width scanning. Once the switch is closed, the
motors stop, the End-of-Exposure Alarm sounds, the amber SHUTTER OPEN lamp turns off
and after a few seconds a Diagnostic Failure #15-4 appears on the screen.

During full-width scanning, the Detector Carriage comes very close to the Limit Switches, so any
imprecision will cause a Limit Switch to be tripped and the scan will be aborted with a Diagnostic
Failure message for Transverse Motion Failure.

A cause of this problem is a loosening of the first drive Reduction Belt which connects the
Transverse Motor to the first Reduction Pulley. This loosening causes the belt to "walk" on the
pulleys causing enough imprecision in the motion to trip a switch. To tighten the belt, first
remove the Pulley Shroud and loosen all four nuts that hold the motor in place. Then, while
holding the motor such that the belt is pulled taught, tighten the nuts to secure the motor in
place. Replace the shroud and test the scanner (an Air Matrix test works well).

If the Tube Head cables come into contact with the cable bundle entering the cable track, it may
be impossible for the scanner to complete all of the necessary transverse steps away from the
operator. Consequently, on each scan line the detector will move closer to the front transverse
limit switch, and the switch may be eventually closed. Form the cable bundle exiting from the
cable track into an arch such that the Tube Head cables will move under the arch rather than
running into the bundle. This arch must not be too high. If it is, there will not be sufficient slack
in the Tube Head cable bundle to allow the Tube Head to move to the front transverse limit
switch. Also, if the arch is too small, it may cause too much slack when the Tube Head is at the
forward side of the table. This causes the Tube Head cable bundle to rub against the inside of
the front panel causing a scraping noise to be heard. If the above does not solve the problem
then check the other mechanical components. Electrical components that could cause such a
failure are the Centent Motor Controller, the Transverse Motor, the OINK board or the SBC
board.

8-34 Mechanical Failures

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.8 Imaging Problems

White, Blue, or Grey in the first or second scan line:

The software is not perfect in its ability to determine the correct grey level of the entire scan
based on the first line of data. Sometimes the grey levels will be set incorrectly during
acquisition. During analysis the grey level is easily adjusted to give a good image, and the
results are not affected by this imaging problem. This problem is most often found on very thin
patients. Adding extra tissue equivalent material (rice bag or saline solution) to a very thin
patient may be all that is necessary to cure the symptom.

Femur Scan Problems

Most image discontinuity problems occur in femur images performed at 3 mA on thin or
osteoporotic subjects. These lines usually occur in the trochanter area where the x-ray beam is
least attenuated by tissue.

These lines are caused by Automatic Gain Stabilizer (AGS) trying to adjust the input signal
which is at an excessively high count rate. However, the AGS is not at fault, and the correct
action is for the customer to attenuate the x-ray beam. For an x-ray beam generated at 3 mA
the tissue areas need to be the equivalent of 12 cm. If the patient does not have 12 cm of
tissue, the operator must make up the difference with rice. Lunar normally recommends placing
a rice bag (on its side to create 12 cm of rice in the x-ray beam) along the side of the patient's
thigh for thin or osteoporotic patients.

AP-Spine Image Problems: Probable causes

• the shutter closes (causes blue lines, the shutter open lamp to go out, and the End of
Exposure Alarm to sound).
• increase or reduction of high voltage to the detector (causes white and blue speckles).
• loss of the signal from the detector (this causes white and blue speckles)
• loss of current to the x-ray insert filament (causes blue lines, the orange lamp to go out,
and the End of Exposure Alarm to sound).
• bad x-ray relay contacts (providing power to tube head power supplies)
• reduction in AC Line voltage
• loss of proper high voltage on the x-ray tube
• faulty operation of the AGS system (white lines are short and found only where scan
lines move from air into tissue).
• arcing (may cause either white or blue points or lines)

Imaging Problems 8-35

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Example of Imaging problems

It is possible to duplicate AGS imaging problems in the following manner: Start a fast AP-Spine
scan of the aluminum phantom in 15 cm of water at 750 µA. After a few lines remove the
phantom and water from the table top. The image will show all white lines for a few lines, and
then some blue lines. When the phantom and the water are inserted back into position, the
lines turn back to white with no image of the phantom. When the scan is analyzed, blue lines
are found in the area where the phantom had been removed, but the image is correct both
before and after. These symptoms are caused by rollover in the AGS when insufficient material
is in the x-ray beam.

Offset Image in the Middle of a Scan

Although image offset from one line to the next is usually due to patient movement, it may also
be due to hesitation of the motor during the transverse motion. This would cause the image to
be offset thereafter. When using the Auto Width feature, the transverse scan range should be
offset with the image. The problem is usually reproduced more readily by scanning in the fast
mode. If the scanner has problems with hesitations or improper transverse motion, see
Transverse Motion Failures.

AGS Resolution Problem

White lines in 3 mA scans are often caused by AGS problems. Service action is to 1) analyze
the condition of the detector and replace it if necessary, or 2) perform the AGS test and
adjustment found in section 6.2. The adjustment is accomplished by adjusting the
potentiometer nearest to AGSDCA-T4 until the low channel counts produced with an 150 µA x-
ray beam are stable to ±5000 counts and are greater than the high channel counts. When the
aluminum wedge is inserted into the beam, both counts should decrease.

In the case the last test fails, perhaps the voltage at AGSDCA-T4 needs to be increased 10 or
20 mV. Check the rollover at AGS-T12 with an oscilloscope and an x-ray beam at 150 µA to
verify that there is no roll-over or roll-under when this voltage is increased. If stability can not be
maintained in air at 150 µA and in 5-18 cm of water at 3 mA then it will be necessary to replace
some parts to determine which item is causing the instability. The following items can cause
this stability problem : detector, AGS board, both DCA boards, and the AMP-03 board.

Trouble-shooting AGS Resolution Problems

If the problem occurs often enough, use an oscilloscope to monitor the bipolar AMP-03 signal at
the input (TP4), and the output (TP19) of the AGS board. If the amplitude at TP19 changes
suddenly while the amplitude at TP4 remains constant, and at the same time a white line
appears in the scan image, the problem is due to faulty gain stabilization. The cause is either
the AGS or AGSDCA boards.

If the signal changes suddenly at AGS-TP4, the cause must be the circuitry that controls the
high voltage to the Scintillation Detector, the Scintillation Detector itself, the circuitry on the
AMP-03, or the coaxial cables carrying the signals up the Scanner Arm. Measure the signal at
AGS-TP4, while taking voltage measurements at AMP-TP1 (the high voltage to the Scintillation
Detector) and SBC-TP20 (the control voltage from the SBC to the Bertan PMT-10A).

8-36 Imaging Problems

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

If the AMP-TP1 voltage changes at the same time the AGS-TP4 amplitude changes, but the
SBC-TP20 signal does not change, then the Bertan PMT-10A power supply or the coaxial cable
from the power supply to the AMP-03 must be faulty.

If the SBC-TP20 voltage changes at the same time the AGS-TP4 amplitude changes (AMP-TP1
will also change), replace the SBC.

Shutter Failures
Certain problems can cause the shutter to close intermittently completely attenuating the x-rays.
The shutter-open lamp should turn off and the end of exposure alarm will sound. A "Shutter
Failure" error message should appear on the monitor screen. Scanning should cease at this
moment, but if it does continue, blue lines should be expected in the image. Always ask the
operator if a "ping" sound (the end of exposure alarm) is heard, and whether the Shutter Open
or X-Ray On lamp turns off. In the case of a shutter problem, the Shutter Open light will turn off.

The cause of these shutter failures could be:

• a faulty shutter solenoid,
• a broken wire in the shutter/collimator/fan cable assembly, or
• a broken wire or bad connection in the shutter lamp circuit.

Broken Signal Cable

The coaxial cables which carry the voltage to the detector and return the signal from the
amplifier are part of the upper and lower cable bundle assemblies. Any break or significant
pinch of the cable can cause reduction in counts in either or both channels. This could result in
either white or blue lines.

Loss of tube head current

The tube head control cable contains the wires which provide power to the filament transformer.
If the wire to the transformer center tap breaks, the x-rays will stop, the orange lamp will go off,
and the end-of-exposure alarm will sound. If either of the other two wires break, the MAX board
fuse will blow. Always ask the operator if a "ping" sound (the end of exposure alarm) is heard,
and whether the Shutter Open or X-Ray On lamp turns off. In the case of a tube head current
problem, the X-Ray On light will turn off.

X-Ray Relay Failure

The x-ray relay is the easiest item to inspect, because the transparent plastic cover allows you
to visibly inspect the contacts without disassembly.

Unstable AC Line
If the customer's AC line conditions are unstable, voltages below 95 VAC will begin to drop the
high voltage on the x-ray tube. The counts will drop significantly with only a change of a few kV.
However, this normally causes black or dark grey lines in the scan image.

Imaging Problems 8-37

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Arcing
If the tube head is arcing, the arcs will be more likely to occur at the higher current settings.
Arcing generally also causes other strange symptoms such as:
• Scanner stops in the middle of a patient or QA scan with no error message or with
Diagnostic failure 15-4 or 31-6 message.
• Scanner stops during a QA scan with the error message "Print Buffer Error"
• The QA scan fails intermittently because the "Mean value deviates from expected" or
because there is "Excessive variation in standard values"
• The scanner periodically leaves the message on the screen "Starting X-rays Please
Wait" for a longer than normal period of time (more than 10 seconds)

If you see arcing symptoms, try the following service action:

1. View the Quality Assurance History (see section 8.15). In particular note the trend in
BM Values as discussed in the Failing QA's section of this chapter.

If there is evidence of failures in the mean BM value :

2. Repack the high voltage connections as described in procedure HVC-1 in Chapter 6

appendix 6.G. Note if an arc track is visible in the insulation compound.

3. Replacement of the tube head if no arc tracks are discovered, or if the repacking of the
connectors does not eliminate all arcing symptoms.

Summary
Except for the x-ray relay, the cause of the problem will be difficult to find. Try to obtain some
additional information. If the customer is hearing the end-of-exposure alarm, or seeing the
yellow x-ray on lamp flickering, you can deduce the tube head control cable is bad. Likewise, it
is possible to decide on the shutter/collimator/fan cable. In the case of no alarm or lamp
indications, or in the case where large deviations occur in the peak, the upper and lower cable
bundles should be replaced, as problems with the coaxial cable will be too expensive to
troubleshoot.

8-38 Imaging Problems

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.9 Femur Scan Problems

If the automatic width feature is not working properly, or unreasonable results are being
obtained, the patient may have unusually low bone mass, they may not have adequate tissue
around the femur or the scan may be going out of the patient and into air.

Check the size of the trochanter, neck and Ward's areas and verify that the sizes are
reasonable. The software may not have correctly selected the baseline causing the bone edges
to be improperly fixed. This false baseline could be due to one or more of the following
problems:
• There are not enough lines below the pelvis and above the trochanter (>25 lines) for an
adequate baseline to be established. The Operator's manual recommends starting the
scan 5.1 cm below the trochanter, and verifying that there are 15-20 lines before the
ischium appears in the image.
• If the x-ray beam passes into air during the femur scan, the software will incorrectly set
the baseline. White lines on the edge of the image, or unreasonable bone areas are
indications that the beam has passed into air. If this happens, the patient must be
rescanned with a soft tissue equivalent material (such as bages of uncooked rice) placed
against their hip.
• New systems will be delivered with LUNAR Tissue Bags (p/n 0784). These bags are to
be used as described above. Extra bags may be ordered through the LUNAR Customer
Service Department.
• Be sure the customer places the ROI box near the pelvis end of the neck with nearly
equal amounts of soft tissue in each end of the box and none of the ischium or
trochanter. The software moves the box down the neck towards the trochanter during
the search for the Ward's Triangle area.

To insure proper baselines, Lunar recommends that tissue equivalent material (as mentioned
above) be placed along side of and on top of the hips of very thin or osteoporotic patients.

In the case of a patient having unusually low bone mass, the program may have difficulty in
locating bone edges as it scans. In this case the only option is to slow down to Slow or even
Detail mode, and the automatic width option may have to be changed to manual if the bone
edges are still not tracked properly.

If the white lines that occur in the image when the beam passes into air continue to be white
when the beam passes back into the patient's body, the Automatic Gain Stabilizer (AGS) may
not be properly adjusted. There is a test for proper AGS operation (see ASG Calibration Test).

If manual analysis is used, the ROI boxes must be inside bone image only to obtain a correct
BMD. Include no soft tissue points in manual ROI's.

Femur Scan Problems 8-39

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Method of Determining Ward's Triangle

Ward's Triangle region is delineated by the square placed on the image with sides roughly equal
to one half of the width of the femoral neck (the actual anatomical region is triangular in shape,
thus Ward's Triangle. The Lunar software places the small square box around what it
determines to be that region). This square is placed along the centerline of the neck in an area
where we expect the minimum density. The bone mineral density is then calculated for the
square. Then the square is moved again slightly and the BMD is recalculated. This
repositioning and calculating continues until the position of lowest density is found. This lowest
density square is selected as the Ward's Triangle region.

8-40 Femur Scan Problems

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.10 Failing Air Matrix Results

The six categories (Chi Squared, Skew and Kurtosis for each of the Low and High Channels) of
the Air Matrix scan in the Overall Results (see section 5.1) should all pass, but it failure is
acceptable if the value is close to the software limits. The service limits are as follows:

Category Limit

Chi Squared 45

Skew ±.07

Kurtosis ±.07

NOTE: All six categories MUST PASS during testing for new installations!

Chi Squared values ≤45 that fail should be considered in the light that the Air Matrix test is a
statistical evaluation, and therefore, there is a statistical chance that a properly functioning
scanner could fail the Air Matrix test. Skew and Kurtosis values will pass between -0.07 and
0.07. Anything outside of these limits is failing. These limits are valid only for scans made with
1/4" (6 mm) of aluminum in the beam. Limits for scans made with more or less aluminum have
not been determined.

If the failing Air Matrix has values that are close to passing (as described above), check the
Deviation Image (see below). If that looks good, run another Air Matrix (perhaps a shortened
test depending on time limits). The second test should pass. If not, a problem exists in the
scanner.

A misadjusted AGS DCA could be the cause of a failing Air Matrix. To determine if this is the
cause before parts substitution is used to solve the problem, refer to the AGS Adjustment
Procedure in Section 6.2. NOTE: This test and adjustment procedure will not be of use if the
PMT Detector is defective. Verify that the Detector is good by examining QA History trends in
%Spillover, Air Ratio and Air Counts (see Section 8.14).

Otherwise, the following parts should be substituted until passing Air Matrix results can be
obtained:
• Scintillation Detector
• Automatic Gain Stabilizer Board (AGS)
• AGS DCA
• DPX DCA

Failing Air Matrix Results 8-41

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

Deviation Image
The Deviation Image is a graphic illustration of the counts recorded during the Air Matrix scan.
A good image has a black field with evenly distributed grey dots and perhaps a few randomly
distributed dots of various colors (green or blue usually).

A poor Deviation Image will have colored lines, streaks or spots (indicating counts higher or
lower than expected). Colored lines or streaks going longitudinally in the image indicate an
alignment problem. Recheck the alignment of the scanner including the levelness of the
scanner. Also, check the scanner frame for any bending that may have occurred at the site or
during shipment.

Colored lines or streaks going transversely across the image indicate a problem with the AGS,
the AGS DCA or the DPX DCA (also see section 6.2). Again, replace parts until a passing Air
Matrix is obtained.

8-42 Failing Air Matrix Results

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.11 Indicator Failures

X-ray On LED Blinking

The amber X-RAY ON LED should glow steadily once it is illuminated, until the x-rays are
turned off. If the X-RAY ON LED blinks while the shutter is open for a patient scan, the End of
Exposure Alarm should sound.

The amber LED is controlled by a comparator on the OINK Board. This LED illuminates when
approximately 40µA (or greater) of current is passing through the X-ray Insert. On Spellman
system scanners the amber light may appear to fade out slowly when x-rays are ramped down.
This due to the Spellman power supplies bleeding off current and is not a problem.

If the voltage ramping fails, the High Voltage Power Supplies must be shut completely off before
a second ramping attempt is made. If the amber X-RAY ON LED turns on momentarily, then
turns off for a few seconds before coming on steadily, the system is having difficulty ramping the
high voltage. One of the High Voltage Power Supplies may be defective.

The SBC does not monitor the Insert current once the proper level has been reached.
Therefore, if the current to the Insert is interrupted, the SBC will not recognize the problem and
will not alert the computer, or terminate the exposure.

If the X-RAY ON LED blinks once the x-ray high voltage has been set, there must be a problem
in one of the following areas:

• Tube Head Control Cable—The most likely cause of an intermittent problem in this
circuit is a broken wire in the Tube Head Control Cable. The Red wire is most likely the
broken one, as a broken blue or black wire should blow the MAX Board Fuse. Turn the
scanner off and test for continuity between MAX Board test points TP4, TP5, and TP13.
• MAX Board—The MAX Board may be operating intermittently. Verify that the wave
forms on TP4, and TP5 match the wave forms on page 9.17 and 9.18. Substitute a
replacement MAX Board.
• OINK Board—Noise may be present on the line extending from pin 3 of U5 to the SBC
board. This noise would cause the bell to ring after every scan line during Total Body
scans at 150A current modes. Adding a 0.1F capacitor between pins 1 and 3 of U5
on the OINK Board should attenuate this noise (see section 7, ECO #1393).

Shutter Open LED Blinking

The amber Shutter Open LED is controlled by the Limit Switch on the Shutter/Collimator
Assembly. If the Limit Switch is defective or improperly adjusted, the Shutter Open LED may be
switched on and off. This will usually be accompanied by the sound of the End of Exposure
Alarm if an exposure is underway.

If the Shutter is actually opening and closing intermittently and uncontrollably, the problem is
either on the OINK, or a broken wire between the OINK and the Shutter/Collimator Assembly.
Remove connector J11 from the OINK Board and measure the resistance between pin 5 and
pin 6. This will be a measurement of the resistance of the Shutter Solenoid and the cable

Indicator Failures 8-43

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

through the Cable Track. If the problem occurs on every scan, run a scan while making this
continuity check. If the cable and solenoid seem to be working properly, substitute a new OINK
Board.

Shutter Not Operating

If the Shutter Solenoid will not open, the problem may be caused by one of the following:
• The Shutter Open LED—If the Shutter Open LED fails, a properly operating OINK board
will prevent operation of the Shutter Solenoid. Check the LED for continuity, replace it,
or substitute a working amber LED temporarily.
• Solenoid Cable—Remove J11 from the OINK Board and check continuity between pin 5
and 6 (see Shutter Open LED Blinking above).
• OINK Board—Replace the OINK Board.

End of Exposure Alarm During Scan

If the sharp "Ping" sound of the End of Exposure Alarm is heard during a scan, look at the
computer display to see if a Diagnostic Failure Code is being reported. If so, see section 8.1.

If no Diagnostic Failure Code is reported, the scanner may still be in motion continuing with the
scan. Abort the scan and remove the patient from the table. In any case, note the status of the
SHUTTER OPEN light and the X-RAY ON light.
• Both the SHUTTER OPEN light and the X-RAY ON light are on and steady. This would
indicate a faulty OINK board. Replace it.
• The SHUTTER OPEN light is off. This could indicate the following:
• The LED becomes defective during the scan and since the shutter solenoid and this
light are wired in series, the Shutter closed and the Alarm sounded.
• The cable to the amber Shutter Open light broke during the scan with the same
result as above.
• The shutter solenoid failed and the Shutter closed followed by the Alarm sounding .
• The OINK is faulty.
• The SBC is faulty.
• The X-RAY ON light is off. This could indicate the following:
• X-ray production has halted. This turns off the Xray On light and sounds the Alarm.

8-44 Indicator Failures

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.12 Communications Failures

Should the scanner and computer lose communications with each other, there are a number of
things to check:

Check the I/O cable connections at the serial port on the back of the computer and at the SBC.
Be sure both connections are tight and that the thumb screws are used to hold the connectors
firmly together. Also, inspect the 25 pin connector on the SBC. This connector is very fragile
and may have been damaged. Be very careful when connecting the I/O cable to the SBC.

If the ports are properly configured and communication still fails, then the probable causes are:
• A faulty I/O cable.
• A faulty SBC.
• A faulty system board async (serial) port.

Replacement of these parts is the best troubleshooting method. The system board async port is
a part of the computer's system board.

Another possibility is that the SBC has lost its firmware or the firmware has become corrupted.
This can be remedied by downloading the program again. See Monitor Directory, section 5.1,
for instructions.

Communications Failures 8-45

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

THIS PAGE LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLY

8-46 Communications Failures

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.13 Start Up Software

The following printouts are CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and MSDOS.SYS files created by
the DPX-IQ software at install. Each system may be slightly different dependant on any other
software installed on it. The first CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are created for DOS
based installations while the second of each are created for a Windows '95 installation. The last
file, MSDOS.SYS, is for the Windows '95 installation. The DOS installation does not require a
MSDOS.SYS file.

DOS Installation

CONFIG.SYS

rem LUNAR Corporation, 313 West Beltline Hwy, Madison, WI 53713. (608) 274-2663
rem File: config.sys DOS version: 6.20

files = 50
buffers = 45
stacks = 0,0
dos = high,umb
shell = C:\command.com C:\ /P /e:900
device = C:\dos\himem.sys
device = C:\dos\emm386.exe 64 ram

AUTOEXEC.BAT

PATH=C:\;C:\DOS
@rem LUNAR Corporation, 313 West Beltline Hwy, Madison, WI 53713. (608) 274-2663
@rem File: autoexec.bat DOS version: 6.20

@echo off
break off
prompt $p$g
C:\dos\smartdrv.exe 512
call C:\LUNAR\setdpx
:--- (check disk integrity and)
cls
echo RUNNING CHKDSK ON DRIVES
for %%f in (C:) do if EXIST %%f\nul chkdsk %%f /F
:--- (Create a temporary timestamp file for todays date)
echo. | date > C:\defrag.tmp
:--- (Check to see if the official timestamp file exists)
if not exist C:\defrag.dat goto CheckDate
:--- (A timestamp file exists, check if this is a new day by comparing files)
fc C:\defrag.tmp C:\defrag.dat | find "no differences encountered" > \nul

Start Up Software 8-47

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

if not errorlevel 1 goto DefragDone

:CheckDate
:--- (If this is a Monday, then a full defrag will be performed)
find "Mon" C:\defrag.tmp > \nul
if errorlevel 1 goto FastDefrag
defrag c: /f
goto :CheckDefragStatus
:FastDefrag
defrag c: /u
:CheckDefragStatus
:--- (If defrag completed successfully, then update the timestamp)
if errorlevel 1 goto DefragDone
copy/y C:\defrag.tmp C:\defrag.dat > \nul
:DefragDone
:--- (Remove the temporary timestamp file)
del C:\defrag.tmp
if exist c:\windows\win.com goto skip_fastopen
if exist c:\wfw\win.com goto skip_fastopen
loadhigh C:\dos\fastopen.exe c:=100
:skip_fastopen
loadhigh C:\dos\doskey
C:
cd \

Windows '95 Installation

CONFIG.SYS

rem LUNAR Corporation, 313 West Beltline Hwy, Madison, WI 53713. (608) 274-2663
rem File: config.sys DOS version: 7.0

switches = /f

[menu]
menuitem=dos,Start MS-DOS
menuitem=win,Start Windows '95
menuitem=dpx,Start Lunar DPX
menudefault=dpx,8

[common]
files = 50
buffers = 45
device=C:\windows\himem.sys /testmem:off
dos=high,umb
shell=C:\windows\command.com /p

[dos]
device=C:\windows\emm386.exe ram highscan noems

8-48 Start Up Software

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

device=C:\cdrom\nec_ide.sys /d:mscd001

[dpx]

[win]

AUTOEXEC.BAT

PATH=C:\;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND;C:\LUNAR
@rem LUNAR Corporation, 313 West Beltline Hwy, Madison, WI 53713. (608) 274-2663
@rem File: autoexec.bat DOS version: 7.0

@echo off
break off
prompt $p$g
goto %config%
:dpx
:dos
lh C:\windows\smartdrv 512
call C:\LUNAR\setdpx
lh C:\mouse\mouse.exe /Q
lh C:\windows\command\doskey
if %config%==dos goto end
C:
cd \LUNAR
call dpx
goto end

:win
call C:\LUNAR\setdpx
win

:end
echo.
C:
cd \

MSDOS.SYS

[Paths]
WinDir=C:\WINDOWS
WinBootDir=C:\WINDOWS
HostWinBootDrv=C

[Options]
Logo=0
BootGUI=0

Start Up Software 8-49

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

BootMulti=0
;
;The following lines are required for compatibility with other programs.
;Do not remove them (MSDOS.SYS needs to be >1024 bytes).
;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxa
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8-50 Start Up Software

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

8.14 Viewing Quality Assurance Trends

DPX-IQ software includes the capability to view, print or graph data contained in the Quality
Assurance database (C:\LUNAR\ANC\DPXS.DBF). View and print display selected results of
many of the tests run during the Daily Quality Assurance in tabular form. The graph feature will
graph the results of only one of the Quality Assurance parameters. All features allow for the
user to select the time period to be examined.

To use these features press F4 at the Main Menu to select Database Utilities and then press F2
to select QA History.

The Quality Assurance History screen displays three columns of data results that are stored in
the database. The 11 highlighted categories are selected by default. Using the arrow keys and
F4, F5 and F6 keys, the various categories can be selected or deselected depending on what
needs to be examined. Since only one category can be graphed at a time, simply move the
highlight to the item to be graphed and press F3.

Pressing F1, F2 or F3 selects View, Print or Graph and the next option is to enter the starting
and ending dates for the time period to be examined. Once that is done to view the data, press
[Esc] to start the printout or generate the graph.

When viewing the 11 default categories, or more, all the information will not fit on the screen.
Use the arrow keys to view the data off the screen to the right. All 11 default categories will fit
on one printed page. Printing more data will simply place the overflow on a separate page. In
graphing, it is possible to use the arrow, PgUp and PgDn keys to highlight a particular date's
QA. Note that the point on the graph for the highlighted date is also highlighted. The exact
value of the category is also displayed by the date.

What to Look for in the QA History

All categories should remain steady over time. Check the PASSED column for 0's, meaning a
failed QA. If a failing QA is found, try to determine the cause, including operator error (see
section 8.2).

LUNAR tries to analyze every system's QA History database file (DPXS.DBF) in order to
discover systems in need of service. This database file is converted to a Lotus 1-2-3
spreadsheet so that the data can be easily analyzed. LUNAR has determined, through these
analyses, acceptable limits for the variability observed for three important factors: Low Channel
Air Counts, Air Ratio and % Spillover.

The acceptable limit of change for Low Channel Air Counts can be expressed three ways: 1) no
more than 1% change/month, 2) no more than 10% change from the value at install or 3) no
change greater than 300 counts/QA.

The limits for Air Ratio are: 1) no change greater than 0.002/month, 2) no more than 0.02
change from the value at install or 3) no more than 0.0001 change/QA.

The limits for % Spillover are: 1) no change greater than 0.05/month or 2) no more than 0.002
change/QA.

Viewing Quality Assurance Trends 8-51

LUNAR® DPX-IQ Service Manual Rev. E (3/98)

The Peak setting normally drifts up or down. A long term upward trend is expected as the
Detector ages, but a downward trend is not unusual. The ideal operating peak is 500 units ±25.
However, Peaks between 400 and 600 units are acceptable. If the Peak is found to be further
from 500 than ±100 units, it should be adjusted (see section 6.1) until the Peak is 500 units
again (±25).

NOTE: The changes per month and per QA must be consistent over a three month
period or 63 QA's to be considered valid. Changes from time of install are invalid
if major parts were replaced since install, such as the Tube Head or PMT.
Changes should be compared to values after these replacements.

If any sudden jumps are noticed in the values of any of the categories, determine first if these
are due to service work such as a Tube Head replacement. If service work causes a shift in the
QA values, then compare present values to those obtained only after the service.

For complete analysis of the QA History database, Lunar suggests periodically sending a copy
of the DPXS.DBF file to the Lunar Customer Service Department.

8-52 Viewing Quality Assurance Trends