Pad, heating, powered: medical device reports filed with FDA

6,882 reports carry this product code, 1992–2026; 9 brands with a page.

Read first · FDA's statement on these data

Adverse event reports submitted to FDA do not undergo extensive validation or verification. Therefore, a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report. While a suspected relationship may exist, it is not medically validated and should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision making or other assumptions about the safety or efficacy of a product. Additionally, it is important to remember that adverse event reports represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product. Common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product. openFDA, FDA

FDA adds: "Although MDRs are a valuable source of information, this passive surveillance system has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data. In addition, the incidence or prevalence of an event cannot be determined from this reporting system alone due to potential under-reporting of events and lack of information about frequency of device use." And: "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices."

Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated.

Not medical advice. This site counts what was reported to FDA. Questions about a medicine or device belong with a pharmacist or clinician.

6,882
reports with this product code: 0% of all MAUDE reports; 123
reports, 12 months to August 2026: 77 in the 12 months before; 70.1%
classified as malfunction: 62.3% across all reports; 0.2%
classified as death, as reported: 0.9% across all reports

Product code IRT is FDA's classification for "Pad, heating, powered" (physical Medicine panel), a class 2 device. 6,882 medical device reports carry this product code, 0% of the MAUDE database, from June 1992 to August 2026.

123 reports arrived in the 12 months to August 2026, up 60% from 77 in the 12 months before. FDA releases MAUDE data monthly; reports can arrive months after an event, so the newest months grow in later releases. The event types recorded are malfunction (70.1%), injury (21%) and other (5.1%). 9 brand names with a page on this site carry this code; the brands table is ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data."

Brands with this product code

Brand	Reports	Latest 12 months	Classified as death	Classified as malfunction
Thermophore	1,969	0	0.1%	95.8%
Thermophore Automatic Moist Heat Pack	1,321	0	0%	99.9%
Sunbeam	1,239	29	0.4%	55%
Thermophore Automatic Heat Pack	305	0	0%	98.4%
Thermophore Arthritis Pad	272	0	0%	100%
Mighty Bliss	248	0	0%	2%
Softheat	245	0	0.4%	1.6%
Conair	180	10	0%	42.3%
Conmed	2	89	0.2%	65.6%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data."

Manufacturers named

Manufacturer (as written on reports)	Reports	Share
Battle Creek Equipment	3,840	55.8%
Coopersurgical	2	0%
Davol	2	0%
Conmed Electrosurgery	1	0%
Kimberly-Clark	1	0%
Megadyne Medical Products	1	0%

Reports by month, five years

FDA releases MAUDE data monthly; reports can arrive months after an event, so the newest months grow in later releases.

Event type and report source

Event type

Death0.2%12

Injury21%1,442

Malfunction70.1%4,826

Other5.1%350

Not given3.7%252

Who filed

Manufacturer report91.2%6,273

Voluntary report3.9%265

User facility report0%0

Distributor report4.5%308

Not given0.5%36

Grey bar: all 26,136,888 MAUDE reports.

Device problems coded

Device problem (FDA code)	Reports	Share
Sparking	1,923	27.9%
Thermal decomposition of device	1,076	15.6%
Fire	553	8%
Improper or incorrect procedure or method	546	7.9%
Smoking	350	5.1%
Insufficient device problem information	302	4.4%
Overheating of device	291	4.2%
Device remains activated	251	3.6%
Breakthe device broke	202	2.9%
Labelling, instructions for use or training problem	175	2.5%
Device emits odor	164	2.4%
Melted	151	2.2%
Cut in material	146	2.1%
Wire(s), breakage of	133	1.9%
Excessive heating	123	1.8%
Hole in material	119	1.7%
Device inoperablethe device could not be used	109	1.6%
Component(s), broken	107	1.6%
Device operates differently than expectedthe device behaved unexpectedly	101	1.5%
Cable break	93	1.4%

Questions about pad, heating, powered reports

What is product code IRT?

FDA's classification code for "Pad, heating, powered", class 2, reviewed by the physical Medicine panel. Every device report carries the product code of the device involved.

How many reports carry this code?

6,882 reports through August 2026, 123 of them in the latest 12 months.

Which brands appear most often?

Thermophore (1,969), Thermophore Automatic Moist Heat Pack (1,321), Sunbeam (1,239), Thermophore Automatic Heat Pack (305) and Thermophore Arthritis Pad (272). Widely used products collect more reports because more people use them.

Can the brands table be used to rank the devices?

No. FDA states that "MDR data alone cannot be used to establish rates of events, evaluate a change in event rates over time or compare event rates between devices. The number of reports cannot be interpreted or used in isolation to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, or frequency of problems associated with devices." It adds that the reporting system "has limitations, including the potential submission of incomplete, inaccurate, untimely, unverified, or biased data." Brands differ in how many are in use, how long they have been sold and how reports are collected.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Device Adverse Event (MAUDE) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 31 Aug 2026. Brand, generic and manufacturer names are as written on the reports; product code names come from FDA's device classification. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.