BackgroundThis guidance is intended to assist investigators in meeting the FDA requirements when investigating medical devices in clinical research and in some treatment situations. Federal regulation defines the requirements for clinical investigations of medical devices.All clinical investigations of devices must have an approved IDE (Investigational Device Exemption) from the FDA or be exempt from the IDE regulations before beginning a clinical investigational of a significant risk device. An investigational device exemption (IDE) allows the investigational device to be used in a clinical study in order to collect safety and effectiveness data required to support a Premarket Approval (PMA) application or a Premarket Notification 510(k) submission to FDA.DEVICE: The term "device" (except when used in paragraph (n) of this section and in sections 301(i), 403(f), 502(c), and 602(c)) means an instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including any component, part, or accessory, which is:(1) recognized in the official National Formulary, or the United States Pharmacopeia, or any supplement to them,(2) intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, in man or other animals, or(3) 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 and which is not dependent upon being metabolized for the achievement of its primary intended purposes.Per FDA Information Sheet Guidance for IRB's, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors: Frequently Asked Questions AboutView Website
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