1. GENERAL MATTERS
1.1. Can I use both
high and low pressure transducers with my Samba system?
Yes. The Samba
201/202 Control Unit uses both low and high pressure Samba transducers. e.g.
the Samba Preclin 420 LP and Samba Preclin 360 HP pressure transducers.
1.2. Can I use my old
Samba pressure transducers made for the previous Samba 3200 or 3000 control
unit with the new Samba 200 system?
No, due to
technical reasons you cannot use previous Samba catheters with your new Samba
201 and 202 control unit. They are unfortunately not compatible.
1.3. Do I have to
install the Samba 200 Software Package?
No, you can
connect the Samba system to a separate external data acquisition system (DAS),
like the BIOPAC MP-150 system, instead of to a Windows computer. To be able to
utilise all the benefits of the Samba 200 system you should however install it
as the Samba 200 Software package includes several useful modules. For more
information about the package content, please see Samba 200 Software Package >>.
1.4. What is the
recommended cleaning procedure when reusing a Samba Preclin transducer?
We strongly
recommend you to use an enzyme cleaner to make sure that all organic
depositions are removed from the sensor after in vivo use of the transducer.
Our recommendation is to use Tergazyme from Alconox (http://www.alconox.com/downloads/pdf/techbull_tergazyme.pdf).
Always mix the
cleaning solution in advance before starting your measurement in order to allow
the cleaning agent to dissolve properly before use. Applying magnetic stirring
to improve the dissolving process is highly recommended.
For more
information please read the "Samba 201 and 202 User Manual" or
download our "General cleaning note" from Downloads >>.
1.5. How much data can
be stored in the internal memory of my Samba 200 unit?
The size of the
internal memory will allow:
- 33 minutes
recording at 625 Hz, or
- 8 hours and 45
minutes recording at 40 Hz, or
- 350 hours
recording at 1 Hz
2. APPLICATION ISSUES
2.1. How do I insert
the Samba catheter to measure blood pressure in a mouse or rat?
Samba Sensors has
produced an instruction movie that describes in detail the insertion
procedure. The Samba instruction film is free of charge, available on CD
and can be received upon request.
Please contact
your local Samba distributor or send us your request by filling in the Email
Contact Form under Contact >>. Choose the headline
"Request for instruction CD for micro-surgeons" in the drop-down menu
of the Email Form.
2.2. How do I apply the
Samba transducer if I want to measure pressure directly in the tissue, for
example in tumour tissue, brain tissue or muscle tissue?
MEASUREMENTS IN
NON-DENSE TISSUE
1. Insert a needle/cannula
(with 0.5 - 0.6 mm inner diameter) into the non-dense tissue.
2. Introduce the
Samba catheter through the needle/cannula until the sensor is at the
needle/cannula tip.
3. Remove the
needle/cannula.
4. If needed, pull
back the Samba catheter slightly while looking at the pressure signal on your
screen. When you have a clear and stable signal, without spikes, the
measurement is all right.
MEASUREMENTS IN
DENSE TISSUE
1. Insert a
needle/cannula (0.5 - 0.6 mm inner diameter) with a Luer-Lok fitting and lock
at its proximal end (use for example the Qosina part #11058:http://www.qosina.com/catalog/part.asp?partno=11058)
into the dense tissue.
2. Introduce the
Samba catheter through the Luer-Lok and needle/cannula until the sensor is at
the needle/cannula tip.
3. Check that the
pressure signal is clear and stable. If not, try to move the Samba catheter
slightly until you get a good signal.
4. Allow the
needle/cannula, with the Samba catheter inside, to remain in place in the
tissue and delicately tighten/seal the Luer-Lok around the Samba fiber (to
prevent pressure leakage through the needle/cannula).
2.3. When positioning
the sensor of a Samba Preclin transducer in a glass of water just below the
water surface the pressure reading is 3-5 mmHg relative to the atmospheric
pressure. Why?
It is the surface
tension in the border zone between liquid and gas that is causing this effect.
If the water is replaced with a liquid with lower surface tension, like
alcohol, the pressure reading will be different but these are physical effects
that are hard to measure exactly. It is recommended to stay away from surface
areas if the exact hydrostatic pressure is to be measured. The actual pressure
(excluding the surface tension component) at the surface is the same as in the
air/gas pressure above it according our universal laws of physics.
3. ERROR MESSAGES
3.1. The message
"Bad Connection" is displayed on my Samba control unit. What is the
cause and how do I solve the problem?
The "Bad
connection" error occurs when light is not passing freely from the control
unit further into the transducer through the optical connectors. It is caused
either by A) dust/dirt on either connector or in between the fibre ends, or B)
a small crack in the optical fibre or C) that the connectors are not correctly
positioned or sufficiently pushing against each other. In any of these cases
you will get a light "leakage", hence the error.
USING THE HUXCLEANER
The simplest way to correct the error and clean both the male and female
optical connectors is to use the HUXCleaner-2.5. For more
information and an instruction video ("How to clean") please visit http://www.thefibers.com/products_01_04.html.
The HUXCleaner data
sheet can be downloaded from Downloads
>>.
SECOND MANUAL METHOD
For a second method to correct the error please follow the procedure below:
1. Start by removing the protective cap from the male connector on the
transducer and gently wipe the fiber end with a lint-free tissue (e.g.
Kimcare®, Kimwipes® or similar) moistened with Isopropyl alcohol. Before the
connector dries, use a lint-free dry tissue to remove the remaining alcohol.
2. Then proceed to
carefully cleaning the female optical connector on the Samba 200 control unit
with Isopropyl alcohol and a Fiber Optic Cleaning Swab. Allow the connectors to
dry completely before reconnecting the transducer.
NOTE: To minimise the risk of getting "Bad
Connection" always check that the transducer connector is clean before
connecting it to the control unit. To keep the connectors clean always use the
protective caps on both the transducers and the control unit when they are not
being used.
3.2. After the installation of the Samba 201/202 unit
my mouse stopped functioning. How do I solve this problem?
When connecting the Samba 201/202 unit the first time to a PC through the
USB port Microsoft Windows will sometimes install the driver incorrectly. For
some reason the MS Plug'n'Play driver installation procedure incorrectly identifies the Samba unit as a Microsoft mouse. The mouse then stops working and the pointer may behave erratically; it jumps at random locations on the
screen, even without moving the mouse, and often ends up in the top right
corner.
To solve this problem, please download the document "USB driver issue" from Downloads
>> under the category "Warranty & service" and follow the
instructions carefully.
4. COMMUNICATION WITH
SAMBA 3200 CONTROL UNIT
4.1. I'm using a Samba
3200 system but I don't have a RS-232 serial port (COM-port) on my computer.
How can I connect my computer to the Samba 3200 Control Unit?
You can use a USB
to serial adapter (Keyspan 4-port adapter USA-49W and Aten 1-port UC-232A have
both been tested by Samba Sensors). Many other brands may also work.
4.2. I’m having
communication problems when using my laptop, what is wrong?
Sometimes the
COM-ports on laptops are shared. You might correct the error by deactivation
the IR-port and the modem-port on your PC. Also make sure that there isn't any
synchronisation software installed, for example for a PDA, that uses the serial
COM-port.
4.3. I have
communication problems with my Keyspan adapter, what do I do?
Use the Keyspan
Serial Assistant to identify the correct serial COM-ports and change the buffer
size from 16 bytes (default) to 56 bytes. And don't forget
to update the settings.
5.
SAMBA 200 SOFTWARE PACKAGE
5.1. Why doesn't the
green "Data lost" indicator (lower left corner) light up in the Samba
200 Software /Data Collection module, when the Samba 200 unit is set to a sampling
frequency higher than 625Hz?
The Samba 200
units never send data faster than 800Hz on the USB port. At 1250Hz and above
only part of the data is being sent to the USB port. All data is however sent
via the Analog port.
The "Data
lost" indicator only lights up when data is being lost in the computer's
serial buffer. This will only happen if the computer is too slow or is too busy
running another program.