Custom-made medical device
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A custom-made medical device, commonly referred to as a custom-made device (CMD) (Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom) or a custom device (United States), is a medical device designed and manufactured for the sole use of a particular patient. Examples of custom-made medical devices include auricular splints, dentures, orthodontic appliances, orthotics and prostheses.
Definitions by jurisdiction
There is no globally agreed definition, but a custom-made medical device can be broadly defined as a medical device that has been designed and manufactured in accordance with a prescription from an appropriately qualified person for the sole use of a particular patient to meet their specific needs. Mass-produced medical devices that have been adapted for specific patient requirements such as customised wheelchairs, hearing aids, and spectacle frames do not typically fall within the definition of a custom-made medical device.
| Jurisdiction | Definition | Legislation |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | A medical device that: (a) is made specifically in accordance with a request by a health professional specifying the design characteristics or construction of the medical device; and (b) is intended: (i) to be used only in relation to a particular individual; or (ii) to be used by the health professional to meet special needs arising in the course of his or her practice. | Therapeutic Goods (Medical Devices) Regulations 2002[1] |
| Canada | A custom-made device, as defined in the regulations, means a medical device, other than a mass-produced medical device, that (a) is manufactured in accordance with a HCP's written direction giving its design characteristics; (b) differs from medical devices generally available for sale or from a dispenser; and (c) is for the sole use of a particular patient of that professionals, or, is for use by that professional to meet special needs arising in the course of his or her practice. | Medical Devices Regulations SOR/98-282[2][3] |
| European Union | Any device specifically made in accordance with a written prescription of any person authorised by national law by virtue of that person's professional qualifications which gives, under that person's responsibility, specific design characteristics, and is intended for the sole use of a particular patient exclusively to meet their individual conditions and needs. However, mass-produced devices which need to be adapted to meet the specific requirements of any professional user and devices which are mass-produced by means of industrial manufacturing processes in accordance with the written prescriptions of any authorised person shall not be considered to be custom-made devices | Regulation (EU) 2017/745[4] |
| United Kingdom | Any device specifically made in accordance with a written prescription of a registered medical practitioner, or any other person authorised to write a prescription by virtue of their professional qualification which gives, under that person's responsibility, specific design characteristics, and is intended for the sole use of a particular patient exclusively to meet their individual condition or need but the following devices are not custom-made devices—(a) mass-produced devices which need to be adapted to meet the specific requirements of a professional user, and (b) devices which are mass-produced by means of an industrial manufacturing process in accordance with the written prescriptions of any authorised person | Medical Devices Regulations 2002[5] |
| United States | (1) In general
The requirements of sections 360d and 360e of this title shall not apply to a device that— (A) is created or modified to comply with the order of an individual physician or dentist (or any other specially qualified person designated under regulations promulgated by the Secretary after an opportunity for an oral hearing); (B) to comply with an order described in subparagraph (A), necessarily deviates from an otherwise applicable performance standard under section 360d of this title or requirement under section 360e of this title; (C) is not generally available in the United States in finished form through labeling or advertising by the manufacturer, importer, or distributor for commercial distribution; (D) is designed to treat a unique pathology or physiological condition that no other device is domestically available to treat; (E)(i) is intended to meet the special needs of such physician or dentist (or other specially qualified person so designated) in the course of the professional practice of such physician or dentist (or other specially qualified person so designated); or (ii) is intended for use by an individual patient named in such order of such physician or dentist (or other specially qualified person so designated); (F) is assembled from components or manufactured and finished on a case-by-case basis to accommodate the unique needs of individuals described in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (E); and (G) may have common, standardized design characteristics, chemical and material compositions, and manufacturing processes as commercially distributed devices. (2) Limitations Paragraph (1) shall apply to a device only if— (A) such device is for the purpose of treating a sufficiently rare condition, such that conducting clinical investigations on such device would be impractical; (B) production of such device under paragraph (1) is limited to no more than 5 units per year of a particular device type, provided that such replication otherwise complies with this section; and (C) the manufacturer of such device notifies the Secretary on an annual basis, in a manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the manufacture of such device. |
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act[6] |
Types
Depending on the jurisdiction, custom-made medical devices can be prescribed by various healthcare professionals working within numerous medical specialties such as dentists, hearing aid dispensers, ocularists/orbital prosthetists, orthotists, medical practitioners/physicians and prosthetists. Manufacturers of custom-made medical devices include anaplastologists, audiologists, clinical dental technicians/dental prosthetists/denturists, dental assistants/dental nurses, dental technicians, dentists, ocularists/orbital prosthetists, ophthalmologists, optometrists, orthopaedic shoe fitters, orthopedic technicians, orthotists and prosthetists.[7]