CE-marking for medical devices: a guide throgh the maze of requirements in europe

The development of medical technology in the last years of the 20th century has been very dynamic. Synthetic single-use products, artificial joint replacements, pacemaker technologies or minimal-invasive procedures result in a high standard of medical care. But despite of the huge progress in this field, we are presumably only at the beginning of a medical technology revolution. The 1st version of the German Medizinproduktegesetz (MPG, Medical Devices Act) came into effect on January 1, 1995. It represents the national implementation of the European directives 90/385/EEC for active implantable medical device, 93/42/EEC for medical devices and 98/79/EEC for in vitro diagnostic devices. With the implementation of this act in the EU internal market, the free movement of medical devices was established. Medical devices that are marketable in one member state of the EU are also marketable in the other EU countries. Manufacturers of medical devices can therefore place their products on...