The Recall Desk
HighFDA (Devices)·Z-0054-2018·Announced 2017-11-08

Biosense Webster Recalls THERMOCOOL Catheters Due to System Alert Error

Biosense Webster is recalling THERMOCOOL catheters because they may trigger a false magnetic distortion alert on the CARTO 3 System, potentially leading to unintended ablation.

What this means for you

Real risk of harm even if no illness or injury has been reported yet. Stop using the product and follow the agency's guidance.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a risk-of-harm product where injury has not yet been reported, as the false alert may lead to unintended ablation but no specific injuries are cited in the source text.

Plain-English summary

Biosense Webster, Inc. is recalling 357 units of THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF Uni-Directional catheters (Product Codes D-1347-01-S, D-1347-02-S, D-1347-03-S). The recall is due to an increased number of complaints regarding the display of Alert 402 on the CARTO 3 System when these specific catheters are connected.

Alert 402 indicates a "Map: magnetic distortion." This false alert may lead a physician to ablate in an unintended area when delivering RF energy. The affected units were distributed in the US, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Croatia, Korea, Austria, Colombia, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, South Africa, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Great Britain, Hungary, Czech Republic, and China.

Healthcare providers should stop using the affected lots and contact Biosense Webster for further instructions. Consumers are not directly affected as these are professional medical devices.

The recalled product

Product
THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF Uni-Directional Product Codes D-1347-01-S, D-1347-02-S, D-1347-03-S
Affected units
357

Distribution

Distribution scope not specified by the agency.

Part of a larger recall action

This product is one of 5 recalled by Biosense Webster, Inc. under a single FDA (Devices) recall action. The agency files each product separately, so the size of the action is not visible from this page alone.

See all 5 products in this recall →