The U.S. FDA’s early alert program has communicated a number of potential device malfunction episodes since its inception in late 2024, but the agency announced that the program is now moving out of the pilot phase to include all device types as of Sept. 29.
Sometimes little things can create big problems, which seems to be the case with the recall of the power unit used with the Abbott Heartmate 3 left ventricular assist device (LVAD). According to the FDA recall announcement, the power cords used with the power supply might not stay fixed in place, which would leave the power supply with 15 minutes of backup battery runtime before depletion.
The U.S. FDA has announced a class I recall for the Wallstent Monorail system by Boston Scientific Corp. of Marlborough, Mass, a device for treatment of carotid artery stenosis. The company advised customers in early July to return any unused inventory because the inner diameter of the stent is narrower than intended, which may lead to difficulties in extracting the delivery device after placement of the stent.
The FDA announced July 17 that Dexcom Inc. recalled a series of continuous glucose monitor receivers for a failure of speakers to issue an alert for out-of-specification blood glucose measures. This is a clear demonstration of the principle that greater device functionality often creates new types of risk.
The U.S. FDA recently posted three alerts under the agency’s early alert program, including an alert for the V6 and V8 versions of the Sigma Spectrum infusion pumps by Baxter International Inc., which was the result of a mix-up in software installation.
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration reported June 30 several new regulatory requirements are in effect, including a new mandate regarding the use of unique device identifiers for implanted medical devices.
The U.S. FDA has posted several class I recalls in recent days, including a removal of one model of the Medtronic Vascular’s Pipeline Vantage embolization device due to insufficient apposition to the vessel wall.
The U.S. FDA’s device center hasn’t issued news bulletins or guidances in the past week, but the march of device recalls continues apace in the month of February.
The U.S. FDA posted another early advisory, this time for the Mini PCNL devices by Trokamed GmbH. The agency noted that these devices should not be used for suction and irrigation of surgical sites, a use for which the device was not cleared in the first place.
