Personalised medical devices consumer survey

Overview

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) regulates medical devices to ensure they are safe and work as intended.

We regularly review and update our rules to keep pace with technology and protect patients and consumers. We are currently reviewing personalised medical devices. These are devices designed and made to suit you personally. This is often done by taking a scan or a physical impression of a body part, and making the device based on these.

Examples of personalised devices include:

• a dental crown shaped for your teeth
• a dental aligner made specifically for your bite
• a physiotherapy wrist or ankle splint designed and formed to match your features
• a knee or shoulder implant specifically designed for your body
• a metal plate inserted during surgery, customised to fit you

New technologies, like 3D printing, have made these devices more common. Now, health professionals often make personalised devices themselves, directly in the clinic or hospital. We would like to better understand how these devices are provided and used.

Why your views matter

We need to understand what’s most important to patients and consumers regarding personalised devices. Your feedback will help ensure that these devices are safe and the people making them have the necessary skills. By sharing your experiences, you will help to improve decisions about how these devices are regulated and supplied.