The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a safety alert on July 1, 2025, warning healthcare providers about a critical malfunction in Abiomed's Automated Impella Controllers (AIC) that has been linked to three patient deaths. The issue involves the controller's failure to detect connected Impella blood pumps during critical procedures, potentially compromising patient care in life-threatening situations.
Critical Detection Failure Identified
Abiomed, now part of Johnson & Johnson Medtech, identified a significant issue that may impair the detection of an Impella pump when connected to an AIC. According to the FDA, this pump detection problem can occur with any of the Abiomed Impella pumps and may manifest during console-to-console transfer or case start procedures. Critically, the AIC screen does not display a visual alarm to indicate the detection issue in these situations.
The detection failure poses particular risks for patients in cardiogenic shock, as prolonged episodes of inadequate hemodynamic support may not be well tolerated and could lead to life-threatening injuries. The FDA emphasized that this issue may result in inadequate hemodynamic support precisely when patients need it most.
Safety Recommendations and Protocols
In response to the identified risks, Abiomed issued updated instructions for use on June 23, 2025, with urgent safety recommendations for healthcare facilities. The company advised all affected customers to maintain a backup AIC available in the unlikely event of a device failure.
For console-to-console transfers, healthcare providers should monitor whether the AIC screen remains static for more than 20 seconds without advancing after connecting the pump to the transferred console. If this occurs, medical teams should immediately switch the pump back to the previous console to restore support to the patient. If the previous console displays an alarm message, providers should switch to a different console if available and restart the problematic console before attempting to reconnect a pump.
During case startup, if the AIC screen remains unchanged for more than 20 seconds after connecting the pump and does not progress to indicate "Detecting Impella," healthcare teams should either restart the case on the console or switch the pump to a different console.
Regulatory Response and Ongoing Monitoring
The FDA classified this as a potentially high-risk device issue and is currently reviewing information about the problem. The agency has committed to keeping the public informed as significant new information becomes available. As of June 13, 2025, Abiomed reported three deaths but no serious injuries associated with the controller issue.
Healthcare facilities are advised to review the safety notice carefully and forward it to all relevant personnel who need to be informed. If any affected products have been transferred to other facilities, those facilities must be contacted and provided with the safety notice. The FDA has made affected product information, including product codes, UDI-DIs, and serial numbers, available for healthcare providers to identify potentially problematic devices.
