There was a recent post in the Technical Assistance forum concerning Electrical Safety Testing of a fitness cycle machine and it raised a question in my mind that I have been fighting my mind with for some time.... Can a normal standard piece of equipment become a medical device??
Thinking of the exercise bike - at a gym it is seen as a piece of fitness equipment where people go to tone up or do whatever they want. However, if that same excercise bike was then used in a Physiotherapy capacity as part of a recommended physio regieme, is it then a medical device?
It also brings back memories of a story I was told of some medical students visiting an ICU. One of them noticed that a fan had been positioned near the bed and was being used to keep the patient cool. So then the dabate started amonst them "is the fan a medical device?". Is it, isn't it??
I don't know iof they actually came to a decision in the end or not.
People's input on the above would be appreciated. It would be good to know what people in the industry think about devices being traated as medical devices (or not as the case may be).
Looking forward to your views
