Design history file

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A design history file is a compilation of documentation that describes the design history of a finished medical device. The design history file, or DHF, is part of regulation introduced in 1990 when the U.S. Congress passed the Safe Medical Devices Act, which established new standards for medical devices that can cause or contribute to the death, serious illness, or injury of a patient. [1] [ page needed ] Prior to this legislation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) auditors were limited to examining the production and quality control records of the device.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Requirements

The regulation requires medical device manufacturers of Class II and Class III devices to implement design controls. These design controls consist of a development and control plan used to manage the development of a new product, and a design history file where these activities are documented. These controls are specifically intended to manage a medical device company's new product development activities. Research and development processes aimed at developing new underlying technologies are not subject to these regulations. The requirements for a DHF are documented in FDA Regulation CFR 21 820. [1]

Design controls

Each manufacturer of either a class II or class III medical device (as well as a select group of class I devices) needs to establish and document procedures on the design and design requirements. These design controls include: [2] [ non-primary source needed ]

Design and development files

The sub-clause 7.3.10 of ISO 13485:2016 requires a manufacturer of a medical device to maintain (and control) a design and development file for a medical device to document the design history of a medical device. This file shall also contain records for changes in design and development (per device type or family). It might contain e.g. a design and development plan, or test reports; and is thus comparable to the DHF of the FDA regulations. Similarly, Annex II §3.1 of the EU medical device regulation asks for information to allow the design stages applied to the device to be understood to be part of the Technical documentations.

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References

  1. 1 2 Harnack, Gordon (1999). Mastering and Managing the FDA Maze: Medical Device Overview. American Society for Quality. ISBN   9780873894555 . Retrieved January 13, 2017.[ page needed ]
  2. FDA Staff (October 7, 1966). "Part 820—Quality System Regulation, Subpart C—Design Controls, § 820.30 Design Controls". Federal Register. 61 (195): 52657. ISBN   9781932074109 . Retrieved January 13, 2017. Also available in hardcopy, as FDAnews (2003). Device Inspections Guide (Document compendium). Washington, DC: Washington Business Information. p. 52657. ISBN   1932074104.