Agency
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates medical devices in the United States.
Medical Device Definition
A medical device in the United States is any instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or another similar or related article, including a component part or accessory which is:
- Recognized in the official National Formulary, the United States Pharmacopoeia, or any supplement to them
- Intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, in man or other animals
- Intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals, and which does not achieve its primary intended purposes through chemical action within or on the body of man or other animals
It does not achieve its primary intended purposes through chemical action within or on the body of man or other animals. Therefore, it is not dependent upon being metabolized to achieve its primary intended purposes.
Medical Device Classification System
International Classification |
Risk Level |
Examples |
Class I |
Low Risk |
Tongue depressors, bandages, and hand-held surgical instruments |
Class II |
Moderate Risk |
Wheelchairs, pregnancy test kits, and certain types of pacemakers |
Class III |
High Risk |
Implantable pacemakers, breast implants, and heart valves |