EVALUATING THE BIOCOMPATIBILITY OF MEDICAL DEVICES AND MATERIALS WITH ISO 10993 A medical device or material that comes in contact with the patient's body is expected to perform its intended function without resulting in any adverse effect to a patient. Potential adverse effects can range from short-term (acute) to long-term (chronic) adverse effects to the body such as mutagenic effects. For this reason, medical devices are typically subject to biological evaluation and biocompatibility testing to evaluate the interaction between a device and tissue, cells or body fluids of the patient. The primary purpose of a device biocompatibility assessment is to protect patient from potential biological risks. ISO 10993 BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF MEDICAL DEVICES ISO 10993-1, Biological Evaluation of Medical Devices - Part 1: Evaluation and Testing within a Risk Management Process provides a framework for determining the appropriate biocompatibility steps for planning a biological evaluation. Specific testing is dependent on the type of medical device or material and its intended use, and on the nature and duration of contact between the medical device and the body. According to the standard, an assessment for biological effects from the exposure of a medical device or material to human body can include testing such as cytotoxicity, sensitization, irritation or intracutaneous reactivity, systemic toxicity, subchronic toxicity, genotoxicity, implantation and haemocompatibility, etc.
