Pre-Registration Assessment of Bone-Filling Products

The use of bone-filling material to repair bone defects and fix implanted bone grafts is a developing area in medicine. Investigators can evaluate bone-filling materials through use of several indices to make comparisons and to determine suitability for application in humans(1). However, it is quite difficult to transform their discovery into practical use, because the viability of the studied material might require examination of all aspects of properties. In addition, for a material to become a product, a complete procedure involving a declaration, registration, and approval is necessary. This article introduces the technical indices that the investigators and reporters should provide in their declaration and registration data to meet the relevant standards in China. The indices include physical and chemical properties, biocompatibility, biosecurity, pre-clinical animal model tests, sterilization and disinfection, product duration, and packaging. Full consideration of all possible indices is crucial to realize the transformation from a designed product to a commercial medical device, which requires effective interaction between clinicians and engineers.