Medical devices are mechanical devices, tools, apparatus, machinery, or components of equipment which are made for medical purposes by doctors, nurses, technicians, and other health care professionals. The word also includes any reagents, medicines, and other electronic items used in animal or human medicine. Medical devices may be biological, mechanical, optical, or electromagnetic. Medical devices have made significant advances over the years. They include life support systems, blood pressure monitors, abdominal scanners, surgical instruments, cardioprotective and invasive heart surgery equipment, pacemakers, dental implants, wheelchairs, artificial joints, and more.
Today’s medical devices provide a level of comfort and convenience that would make every patient’s life better. These devices help to prevent, cure, or alleviate a wide range of medical conditions and symptoms. Some medical devices improve the quality of life and increase quality of life. For example, a blood pressure monitor allows patients to take their medication under their pillow for convenient, monitoring, control. Medications like calcium channel blockers are implanted into a person’s femur in order to reduce the risk of low bone mass and osteoporosis. Other new and improved products include anuses for urinary catheters, artificial hips, crutches, walkers, and canes, dental implants, and artificial kidneys.
One of the most common types of medical devices that improve a person’s quality of life is speech pathology equipment. Speech pathology is the study of abnormalities of the vocal cords, for example laryngeal polyps, throat nodes, or adenoids. This type of medical device is used for a variety of conditions and to help diagnose a wide variety of diseases. Speech pathology devices include air flow meters, digital hearing aids, tongue depressors, and mandibular advancement splints. Speech pathology also treats chronic disorders of the voice, such as hoarseness, and issues that affect the voice, such as articulation problems.
Another important category of medical devices is those that help patients overcome challenges, such as nerve damage caused by strokes and motor vehicle accidents, or genetic disorders. One example of a device for genetic disorders is the pacemaker. Today’s pacemakers and other such medical devices allow a person with a motor vehicle accident to live a normal life. They are designed to test breathing patterns, provide electricity for light and sound, control heart rate and muscle tension, and measure body temperature.
The third category of medical devices is those used to enhance the patient’s quality of life. Some of these devices are baby monitors, which help prevent infant drowning, by providing a connection to the mother’s womb during childbirth. Other medical devices help the visually impaired and developmentally disabled to perform activities of daily living. One example of such a device is the developmentally disabled’s Cardiac Control Device (CCD), which monitors heart and pulse rate. A hearing device called the hearing aid also falls into this category.
Medical devices fall into one of several basic categories of medical devices. These categories include Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT), which involves the use of high-energy sound waves to stimulate a wound or other affected area; Photodynamic Therapy, which uses ultraviolet light rays to reduce or eliminate the effects of macular degeneration and cataracts; Electrotherapy, which uses electrical current to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and cerebral palsy; Diagnostic Medical Devices (DMADs), which are diagnostic medical devices that aid in diagnosing and monitoring various medical conditions; and Nanotechnology, which uses ultra-small, nanoleft devices to deliver drugs and other medicines through the skin. Depending on the situation, a medical device could be classified under more than one category. For example, although most people would classify heart attack recovery medicine as a heart attack medicine, it is actually part of a broad category of rehabilitation medicine.
The other task facing those in the medical field is to define what is meant by “medical device.” One school of thought is that all medical devices fall into one of four basic categories: surgery tools; biological treatment modalities such as drugs and biological medicines; surgical instruments used specifically in the surgery itself; diagnostic medical devices used to diagnose disease or to monitor and record disease progression or to monitor treatment effectiveness; and therapeutic medical devices designed to improve or heal the body. A fourth category is generally left out, but includes such devices as finger pads that allow visually impaired patients to perform simple tasks or to feed themselves. The other three categories are clearly more comprehensive than the categories of surgery tools, biological treatment modalities and surgical instruments.
The medical device industry is an ever changing field. Medical Device companies must always look for ways to modify their products to better serve their patients. It is important for companies to distinguish themselves from other companies by developing and releasing new, innovative products in new and exciting ways to enhance patient health and their quality of life. As medical device companies continue to develop and manufacture medical products, the field will only continue to grow and become more specialized. Innovation is a key factor in the success of any new product or technology.