Events

Recall of Ultrasound gels and ECG contact gels

According to L’Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM), this recall involved a device in France that was produced by COVIDIEN.

What is this?

A correction or removal action taken by a manufacturer to address a problem with a medical device. Recalls occur when a medical device is defective, when it could be a risk to health, or when it is both defective and a risk to health.

Learn more about the data here
  • Type of Event
    Recall
  • Date
    2008-06-18
  • Event Country
    France
  • Event Source
    ANSM
  • Event Source URL
    https://ansm.sante.fr/S-informer/Informations-de-securite-Retraits-de-lots-et-de-produits/gels-pour-echographie-et-gels-de-contact-ecg-non-steriles-covidien
  • Notes / Alerts
    French data is current through early September 2018. All of the data comes from L’Agence nationale de sécurité du médicament et des produits de santé (ANSM), except for the categories Manufacturer Parent Company and Product Classification.
    The Parent Company and the Product Classification were added by ICIJ.
    The parent company information is based on 2017 public records. The device classification information comes from FDA’s Product Classification by Review Panel, based on matches of recall data from the U.S. and France.
  • Extra notes in the data
  • Action
    On 16/06/08, Covidien France withdrew from the market all batches of the references of the medical devices called Gels for ultrasound and ECG contact gels, non-sterile mentioned in the recall (16/06/2008) (36 (ko) attached, following the detection of bacterial contamination of an ultrasound gel sample. Covidien France has directly notified the recipients of the offending lots by means of the enclosed message validated by Afssaps. This information is addressed to the directors and correspondents of materiovigilance for diffusion if necessary to the services concerned. The relevant European Competent Authorities are informed of this measure by the manufacturer.

Device

Ultrasound gels and ECG contact gels
  • Model / Serial
  • Product Description
    medical_device
  • Manufacturer
    COVIDIEN

Manufacturer

COVIDIEN
  • Manufacturer Parent Company (2017)
    Medtronic plc
  • Manufacturer comment
    “If our surveillance systems identify a potential performance issue, our personnel promptly evaluate the problem, including, when appropriate, conducting root cause investigations and internal testing to assess whether the product continues to meet specifications and defined performance criteria,” Medtronic told ICIJ in a statement. “In some cases, based on this evaluation, Medtronic may determine that a recall is necessary.” The company said that it communicates with healthcare providers and/or patients and provide recommendations to address such issues. Medtronic noted that these communications can include letters, emails, calls, press releases, physician notifications and social media postings, as well as informing the FDA and other regulators of the actions.
  • Source
    LAANSM