PMCF studies: three types to be distinguished

PMCF studies are studies that manufacturers use as part of Post-Market Clinical Follow-up (PMCF) to continuously demonstrate compliance of their medical devices. Manufacturers do not always need to conduct studies to meet PMCF requirements. And not all types of PMCF studies are subject to MDR requirements. This article compactly summarizes the regulatory requirements in the…

Details

Regulatory Intelligence – a core task of Regulatory Affairs?

Many companies consider Regulatory Intelligence so important that they create their own roles and departments for it. This article clarifies what Regulatory Intelligence is, how companies can benefit from it, and where tools can provide support. 1. What is “Regulatory Intelligence”? This includes gathering and analyzing regulatory information from various sources, including regulatory agencies, industry…

Details

Devices without an intended medical purpose – Annex XVI devices

The EU Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) regulates not only medical devices but also devices without an intended medical purpose, e.g., liposuction devices, breast implants, and colored contact lenses. In December 2022 – four and a half years after the MDR was published – the EU regulated the necessary details with two Commission Implementing Regulations (2022/2346 and…

Details

ASCA: Accreditation Scheme for Conformity Assessment

ASCA stands for Accreditation Scheme for Conformity Assessment. The procedure is intended to accelerate conformity assessments and, thus, approval procedures. However, it is not applicable to all devices or all markets. This article explains who benefits from ASCA and how the procedure works. 1. ASCA – The basics a) Who is affected by ASCA? ASCA…

Details

TIR 45: Agile software development for medical devices

The TIR45 (“Guidance on the use of AGILE practices in the development of medical device software”) is a Technical Information Report (hence TIR) of AAMI, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. First published in 2012, TIR45 has one primary objective: To guide medical device manufacturers on developing software compliant with FDA requirements while…

Details