RAQA Today

Why would you use a 3rd party reviewer for your submission? How does a 3rd party reviewer function? How is it different from working with the FDA? I sat down with my good friend Shawnnah Monterrey from Beanstock Ventures to answer all your pressing questions about using 3rd party reviewers. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelottraqa Website: https://leanraqa.com/ YouTube: https://www.y...

Question, questions, everyone has questions about eSTAR 5.0, so I sat down with the FDA's Patrick Axtell to answer the most pressing ones I've received. From file size to eSTAR type to biocompatibility - we cover it all.

When is it better for a medtech startup to hire a fractional quality professional, and when is it time to hire full-time? This is not necessarily an easy question to answer, and there can be a lot of factors impacting the decision. In this joint podcast with Mitch Robbins, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of today's topsy-turvy QA hiring market, and why many companies are opting for fra...

As medical devices become more connected, concerns about security increase, leaving manufacturers - and regulatory staff - uncertain as to the best path forward. Listen in as Michelle and guest Randy Horton discuss industry needs and what the FDA plans to do to ensure the safety of connected and AI-driven devices. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelottraqa Website: https://leanraqa.com...

Many manufacturers see quality as a necessary evil, a box to be checked just to placate the FDA on the way to market launch. But it can be SO much more. In this episode, Ti Benson and I discuss how quality can actually be a business benefit and not simply something to be endured. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelottraqa Website: https://leanraqa.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/...

You may think document control is boring, but wait until you hear these stories: Red-lined post-it notes. Uncontrolled copies passed around during inspections. Master files stored on a desktop instead of in the eQMS system. Secret file cabinets in locked closets full of uncontrolled, red-lined specifications documents. Oh, the joy of document control! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle...

The best leaders know that quality is much more than a box to be checked, or a necessary evil to be endured along the road to FDA (or MDR) approval. This is the third in a series of conversations talking about quality and how it can actually benefit a company, and even give you an advantage over your competition. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellelottraqa Website: https://leanraqa.com/...

MDR has been puzzling me for a few years now, and it's getting worse, not better. In this webinar hosted by Greenlight Guru, we look at the data gathered from recent MDCG guidance documents, industry and notified body surveys, and personal interviews with stakeholders (including notified bodies) who shared their first-hand experiences with implementation (spoiler alert: it ain't pretty).

Upload to EUDAMED is a requirement of MDR, but adoption has been slower than anticipated. Manufacturers are reluctant to invest in the time required to upload their product catalog, and the platform itself has been plagued with issues. Listen in as Richard Houlihan lifts the curtain on why industry has been reluctant to embrace EUDAMED and what the future might hold for both sides.

What happens when two regulatory consultants sit down for a chat about MDR? A lot of distressed head shaking, for sure and an equal measure of what-were-they-thinking eye rolls, but we also dug into the meat of the proposed extension and what it might mean for industry. Monir El Azzouzi and I chatted last month about MDR, and while we didn't solve all of the EU's problems, we did touch on some of...

Risk management can be difficult to understand, even for seasoned quality and regulatory professionals, because there are SO. MANY. ACRONYMS. I mean, there's FMEA, uFMEA, ISO, FDA, PMA to name a few. We discussed acronyms and more at the November meeting of the Dallas ASQ - Section 1402, so if you're ready to go beyond the basics and right into the very heart of risk management, then this is the p...

Orthopedic devices may qualify as medical devices, but they have very different regulatory requirements. So different that the FDA created a new office to manage orthopedic devices - the Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories (OSEL) - and ensure their safety and efficacy. OSEL was created to accelerate patient access to innovative devices, as was the Orthopedic Devices Program. In this pod...

There's the pre-submission, of course, but did you know there are other ways to get FDA feedback without breaking the budget? In this episode, Michelle reviews three pathways that can help startups save some cash while working their way through the commercialization process.

Similar but different is a good way to describe how FDA inspections and MDSAP and notified body audits compare. On the surface, they appear to be looking at the same things, but dig a little deeper and the differences in agenda - and outcome - become plain.

Do you know how your end users will use your device? Are you sure? Do you know how end use will differ between demographic groups? Do you know why this is important, and how usability testing fits into your risk assessment? Shannon Clark has been doing human factors/usability testing for some time, and she can tell you exactly why usability testing is required and the impact it can have on your fi...

If you're struggling to determine whether your devices qualify as state of the art - and how that can impact your submission strategy - then check out this presentation I did with my friends at Greenlight Guru in August. Etienne Nichols and I sort through all the acronyms - SOTA, SOC, MDR, MEDDEV, IVDR - and try to shed some light on what MDR says about state of the art, what it doesn't say, and h...

When submitting a medical device for regulatory approval, it's always better to just dive in, accepting the fact that it's going to take a lot of work and require a lot of patience before you feel the glow of market clearance or approval. There are just SO MANY things to consider, and remember, and document, and SO MANY regulations to refer to on both sides of the Atlantic. In this edited version...

Digital health technologies are exactly new, but they did get a huge boost from COVID and will define how we deliver healthcare in the future. Digital health includes telemedicine, software functions that allow providers to monitor patients remotely, apps that track medication use and provide user-configured reminders for improved compliance - and more. In this podcast, we dive into the whys and t...

The end of the COVID-era emergency use authorization (EUA) is rapidly approaching - do you know what's next? Earlier in the year, the FDA laid out their proposed plans for transitioning devices marketed under and EUA or FDA enforcement policy - then went radio silent. They still haven't released their final guidance, so what's a manufacturer to do? In this podcast, we'll review the proposed FDA re...

So - you have a product, and you have a submission ready to go to the FDA. You're all set, right? You know how the e-Submitter works, you know exactly what FDA Form 3514 is for, and you know the best questions to ask the FDA during your pre-sub? If you've answered NO to any of these, then listen in as Michelle explains what you need to do to help your product move smoothly through the submission p...

So - you're a hot new startup with a snappy new medical device. Now what? Do you have an intended use statement? Do you have the 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 intended use statement? Do you know for sure that your product qualifies as a medical device? What about your predicate device? There are a lot of potholes along the road to market clearance or approval, so come along with me as I explain what you need to avoid der...

Which comes first - design controls or risk management? Both - because the two are inextricably linked. In this podcast, we'll take an in-depth look at both design controls and risk management, the waterfall design process, how/where risk management fits into that process - and vice versa - as well as discuss the ISO and 21 CFR 820 requirements for each stage of the product life cycle.

You've developed a novel technology and want to bring it to market in the US. Now what? Can you submit as a breakthrough device, or is the de novo route a better choice? How are they different? How are they similar? Breathe - and listen in as Michelle walks you through the options.

In this final segment from 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗗𝗥 webinar, we discuss what you should and should not do when preparing for your certification, then segue into what you need to consider when building the business case for (or against) pursuing certification. This one runs a bit longer than 15 minutes because it includes most of the Q+A session, and that has some juicy tidbits you don't want to miss.

Six months into MDR and manufacturers and notified bodies are clashing over differences in opinion and fighting over their respective interpretation of the standards in pursuit of product certification. In this second installment of a series, I share three real-world examples of what actual clients faced when going through the MDR certification process. You'll want to listen and learn from their e...