Liberty Cycler

[camarce]

I've been on PD dialysis for nearly 10 years.... My clinic is having us switch to the Liberty Cycler, I currently use Baxter.  I've used Liberty before at a hospital once, hated it then, hate it more now ... I can't believe this machine got mass produced with all its design mistakes.  At first glanced, you maybe awe'd by its touch screen LCD, having a more modern look than the baxter machine. I wished they focused on design functionality rather than design aesthetics...  Whatever testing they did before mass production, it doesn't seem to be done by actual patients... and that god-awful plastic wheel contraption, they want you to use when connect/disconnect... - they couldn't even design a proper one, it drips betadine on the floor!!!?! seems like an afterthought fix because the lines just hang out the machine (easy to fall to the floor) ... this machine has been out for years now, the firmware which should be the easiest to update, they haven't fixed the mistakes in there too... My nurse was telling me to follow the direction to a T...  .. one direction clearly states in this order,  connect bag, then place it on the heater... clearly, place on heater should be stated first.... ... also the record keeping done at the end of a session, when its at the beginning you're taking your vitals to determine which bags to use, how hard is it to move that screen to somewhere during setup? ... even the catheter tells a story of a step back in design,   Baxter has  a twist to close/open catheter, the Fresenius/Liberty uses a plastic clamp... And the setup takes way longer, filled with unnecessary sensor measurement at each step.. having to wait for the cassette to initialize before placing bag on the machine... for god sake, WHY? just remove the pressure sensor check during this phase.

dreading the day of the switch. i'm sure the first few nights will be a nightmare...the lack of thought in design infuriates me

/end RANT


--------------------------------------------------------

I've been using the Fresenius Liberty Cycler for a couple weeks now..   I've worked around most of the issues I've had with it.    First night was the worse.. The Fresenius Cycler is pretty loud in comparison to Baxter's.  During the drain and fill cycle, it makes a clicking and tapping sound every 1.5 hours, its hard to sleep through it.   My machine is about 5 feet away from my bed.  Comparing to Baxter's, Baxter has a muffled pump noise, and the added thickness of the cassette door helps muffle the sound.  I've put the cycler outside my room to combat this issue, and its working well so far.

One critical issue I did encounter today.  Design flaw, and bad manufacturing..   I use a purple bag for the Last Fill.  These bags are still supplied by Baxter ... its the adapter that's faulty
There's a flaw in the APD Luer-Lock Adapter   This thing fell off overnight.   The top end that connects to the bag doesn't twist tight, it will click at the peak of the torque and slightly loosen... its like you overtighten and the last thread is broken and won't tighten to a  locking point.   Not all adapters are like this... in the two weeks I've been using the cycler i've encountered it at least 3 times, tightening it causes it to click and slightly loosen.
The second issue to this problem, is a design problem... The top part of the connector that connects to the bag; to connect to the bag, the  twist is clockwise, the line is connected to it also twists clockwise, but the tightening action causes the top end of the connection to loosen some of the time...basically the bottom end of the adapter, to tighten with the line it will spin counter-clockwise (opposite of the line your connecting), which will undo the top connection, spun clockwise.  With the top end not locking some of the time, then this problem is a major one.


Other RANTS about this Liberty cycler:
 -Can't disconnect/reconnect in between cycles  in case of emergencies.
 -It measures fluid by weight - there's a weight sensor on the hot plate - no other thing can be on this plate other than the heated bag.
 -Seven stages for setup - I'm certain this can be optimized - it seems some of the initialization process has some redundant task and some unnecessary checks between stages.


The new catheter is not as bad as i assumed.  The betadine part of the catheter is not exposed when connected, compared to Baxter's.  Its less bulky too.

[Shaks24]

I've been on Liberty Cycler for almost 4 years now. I guess it works ok for me but honestly I don't know any better as its the only machine I have used. Yep, I get the drip when connecting and disconnecting from the Stay Safe Organizer. It usually drips on my foot.  They use that same organizer on the IV pole when doing manuals too. At this point I've become so used to it I would dread any change. I've heard they have different cyclers but they are used mainly abroad.  I don't bother inputting my vitals into the machine. I just record them on a flow chart that I hand into the clinic on lab day. Just wait until you have to have your next adequacy test and you have to take in the interconnected 4 drain bag set. That sucker is bulky and heavy. 10 years on PD is a pretty long time. Hope it continues to do well for you.

[solid98]

Just wait until you have to have your next adequacy test and you have to take in the interconnected 4 drain bag set. That sucker is bulky and heavy.

I use a 5 gallon bucket from Home Despot to hold all 4 interconnected bags. JIC of any leakage and the handle makes it easier to haul up the stairs. When I was on manuals, I would put my drain bag in a small office type plastic waste can. Made it easier to take to the bathroom.

[SKS]

I've been on PD dialysis for nearly 10 years.... My clinic is having us switch to the Liberty Cycler, I currently use Baxter.  I've used Liberty before at a hospital once, hated it then, hate it more now ... I can't believe this machine got mass produced with all its design mistakes.  At first glanced, you maybe awe'd by its touch screen LCD, having a more modern look than the baxter machine. I wished they focused on design functionality rather than design aesthetics...  Whatever testing they did before mass production, it doesn't seem to be done by actual patients... and that god-awful plastic wheel contraption, they want you to use when connect/disconnect... - they couldn't even design a proper one, it drips betadine on the floor!!!?! seems like an afterthought fix because the lines just hang out the machine (easy to fall to the floor) ... this machine has been out for years now, the firmware which should be the easiest to update, they haven't fixed the mistakes in there too... My nurse was telling me to follow the direction to a T...  .. one direction clearly states in this order,  connect bag, then place it on the heater... clearly, place on heater should be stated first.... ... also the record keeping done at the end of a session, when its at the beginning you're taking your vitals to determine which bags to use, how hard is it to move that screen to somewhere during setup? ... even the catheter tells a story of a step back in design,   Baxter has  a twist to close/open catheter, the Fresenius/Liberty uses a plastic clamp... And the setup takes way longer, filled with unnecessary sensor measurement at each step.. having to wait for the cassette to initialize before placing bag on the machine... for god sake, WHY? just remove the pressure sensor check during this phase.

dreading the day of the switch. i'm sure the first few nights will be a nightmare...the lack of thought in design infuriates me

/end RANT

Have you considered changing Dialysis centers?  OR checking to see if other affiliated ones are making the switch - just overthinking again but the "they"s who make the machines don't live with them 24 - bet it's a "profit" motive.  Good Luck

[camarce]

i thought about it, I learned recently that this switch is company wide, US Renal.

[Cupcake]

Last time the clinic wanted me to bring in all 4 drain bags, I was able to convince them to let me sample 10ml from each bag and put it in a sterile urine cup. I still make urine so I had to also bring in the pee jug.

[Simon Dog]

When I was on PD, I was given sample tubes to collect from drain bags, but also told any infection possibility would mean just bring in the bag.