Events

Recall of HeartWare Controller

According to New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, this recall involved a device in New Zealand that was produced by HeartWare International Inc.

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
  • Event ID
    17947
  • Event Initiated Date
    2015-01-06
  • Event Country
    New Zealand
  • Event Source
    NZMMDSA
  • Event Source URL
    https://medsafe.govt.nz/hot/Recalls/RecallSearch.asp
  • Notes / Alerts
    Data from New Zealand is current through July 2018. All of the data comes from the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority, 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 New Zealand.
  • Extra notes in the data
    Recalling Organisation: Auckland District Health Board (Health Alliance), CDC Dept Level 4 Health Alliance Building, Auckland City Hospital, Park Road, Grafton, Auckland
  • Reason
    A selected range of serial numbers of heartware controllers exhibit a higher susceptibility to electrostatic discharge (esd) than new controllers. in 2013 heartware advised of the potential for this issue. since then the manufacturer has received reports of one additional death and one additional serious injury in which esd may have caused or contributed to data corruption in older controllers resulting in the loss of commutation to pump motors, which ultimately led to pump stops.
  • Action
    Product to be exchanged

Device

HeartWare Controller

Manufacturer

HeartWare International Inc
  • 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
    NZMMDSA