Medical device means any instrument, apparatus, appliance, software, implant, reagent, material or other article intended by the manufacturer to be used, alone or in combination, for human beings for one or more of the following specific medical purposes:
- diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment or alleviation of disease,
- diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, alleviation of, or compensation for, an injury or disability,
- investigation, replacement or modification of the anatomy or of a physiological or pathological process or state,
- providing information by means of in vitro examination of specimens derived from the human body, including organ, blood and tissue donations,
and which does not achieve its principal intended action by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic means, in or on the human body, but which may be assisted in its function by such means.
The following products shall also be deemed to be medical devices:
- devices for the control or support of conception;
- products specifically intended for the cleaning, disinfection or sterilisation of devices as referred to in Article 1(4) and of those referred to in the first paragraph of this point.
Examples of medical devices include a blood pressure monitor, a patch, spectacles, a hearing aid, and condoms. Pregnancy and laboratory tests are the so-called in vitro (IVD) medical devices.
Medical devices do not include items such as hygiene products (e.g. menstruation bandages), wellness meters (e.g. pulse meters), personal protective equipment (e.g. respirators) or hand disinfectants.