Events

Safety Alert for ShoulderFlex massager

According to Department of Health, this safety alert involved a device in Hong Kong that was produced by N/A.

What is this?

Alerts provide important information and recommendations about products. Even though an alert has been issued, it does not necessarily mean a product is considered to be unsafe. Safety Alerts, addressed to health workers and users, may include recalls. They can be written by manufacturers, but also by health officials.

Learn more about the data here
  • Type of Event
    Safety alert
  • Date
    2011-08-26
  • Event Country
    Hong Kong
  • Event Source
    DH
  • Event Source URL
    https://www.mdco.gov.hk/english/safety/recalls/press_20110826.html
  • Notes / Alerts
    Hong Kong data is current through September 2018. All of the data comes from the Department of Health (Hong Kong), 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 data from the U.S. and Hong Kong.
  • Extra notes in the data
    Press release
  • Reason
    Safety alert on shoulderflex massager after assessing a medical device safety alert issued by the us food and drug administration (fda) on a personal massager with the brand name “shoulderflex” distributed in the us by a company called king international, the department of health (dh) urges the local community to stop using it because of its association with strangulation or other severe injuries. a dh spokesman remarks that the shoulderflex massager is designed for home use to provide deep tissue massage to the neck, shoulder and back while the user lies on a flat surface. "through the department's medical device surveillance scheme, we learnt that there were a few reports of either death or near-strangulation associated with shoulderflex massager in the us.  according to the information available, the incidents were likely to occur when hair, clothing or jewelry became caught in the device, especially those pieces which rotated during use," the spokesman explains. the spokesman states that the department is very concerned as the health risks could be serious even if not fatal.   "thus, in spite of the facts that the devices were mainly sold at stores or online in the us and not known to be on sale here in hong kong, nor has dh received any related notification, given the amount of travelling between the two places and also the popularity of internet trading, we consider it necessary to inform our public of the news and also advise for immediate suspension for the occasional owners," the spokesman deliberates. finally, the spokesman adds that to be prudent, disposal of the device by owners should be in pieces so as to avoid use after reassembling. ends.

Device

ShoulderFlex massager
  • Model / Serial
  • Product Classification
    Physical Medicine Devices
  • Product Description
    Press release: Safety alert on ShoulderFlex massager
  • Manufacturer
    N/A

Manufacturer

N/A
  • Source
    DH