If the air detector alarms during treatment, what should the technician expect to have happened if the machine is functioning correctly?

When the air detector alarms during treatment, it signals the presence of air in the bloodline, which can pose a significant risk to the patient undergoing hemodialysis. If the machine is functioning correctly and the air detector has triggered an alarm, it is likely due to the blood pump stopping. This stop is a safety feature designed to prevent air from entering the patient's bloodstream, as it could lead to serious complications such as air embolism.

The other options highlight scenarios that typically do not directly relate to the activation of the air detector in a functioning machine. For example, an increased blood flow rate is unlikely to cause an air detection alarm, as it usually involves a steady flow of well-primed blood lines. An increase in dialysate temperature also wouldn't trigger the air detector, since it does not pertain to the presence of air in the blood circuit. Lastly, bypassing the dialyzer would involve a different series of alarms and would not normally cause the air detector to activate unless there was an issue with connectivity to the dialyzer that led to trapping air.

Thus, understanding that the alarm's activation correlates with the blood pump halting confirms that this is the expected action when the air detector senses potential danger, ensuring patient