(September 30, 2015, 10:39 AM EDT) -- SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 28 issued a safety communication after receiving more than 300 medical device reports of incidents in which cranial perforators with automatic clutches failed to disengage, resulting in 200 head injuries.

Cranial perforators are bone cutting and drilling medical devices used to create a small hole in a patient’s skull so that a neurosurgeon can access the brain during certain procedures, the FDA said. The agency said the devices often include a clutch mechanism designed to...