Hi friends, welcome to my blog, dedicated to all the wonderful companion animals out there - from horses to dogs and all 4-legged creatures big and small who have needed medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital, degenerative or acquired diseases, and to improve their function or save their lives. These devices include imaging technology, total joint replacement implants, heart defect occluders, cancer therapies, advanced wound care products, and many others.
I am also keenly interested in the growing field of animal wellness products and services, ranging from supplements to massage, so this forum includes coverage of this exciting topic as well.
As we know, medical devices are tested on animals as one of the many regulatory steps before being approved for use in humans, which is a controversial topic for a lot of people. However, when implantable devices in particular are placed in animals to treat diseases, are they as safe as human-approved devices?
Vet Med Device Blogger (VMDB) would like to know what you think, and your experiences with medical device or wellness product use in vet applications, either as a surgeon, medical device R&D professional, animal owner, or someone simply concerned about the welfare of all animals. This is an open forum, all insightful opinions are welcome! (please don't post advertisements, they will be removed)
ARTICLES OF INTEREST:
For background information on how the FDA regulates veterinary medical devices, please see this description from the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/ucm047117.htm.
This article published in May 2010 on the Discovery News site discusses the increasing use of large medical imaging devices for horses and other animals - very exciting! http://news.discovery.com/animals/huge-medical-devices-service-large-animal-patients.html.
