Organizations which provide an environment encouraging social interactions through group activities or individual relationships especially for the purpose of rehabilitating or supporting patients, individuals with common health problems, or the elderly. They include therapeutic social clubs.
Process that is gone through in order for a device to receive approval by a government regulatory agency. This includes any required preclinical or clinical testing, review, submission, and evaluation of the applications and test results, and post-marketing surveillance. It is not restricted to FDA.
Performance of activities or tasks traditionally performed by professional health care providers. The concept includes care of oneself or one's family and friends.
Methods of creating machines and devices.
A person's view of himself.
Contraceptive devices placed high in the uterine fundus.
Freedom of equipment from actual or potential hazards.
Removal of an implanted therapeutic or prosthetic device.
Expendable and nonexpendable equipment, supplies, apparatus, and instruments that are used in diagnostic, surgical, therapeutic, scientific, and experimental procedures.
The normal lack of the ability to produce an immunological response to autologous (self) antigens. A breakdown of self tolerance leads to autoimmune diseases. The ability to recognize the difference between self and non-self is the prime function of the immune system.
A CATHETER-delivered implant used for closing abnormal holes in the cardiovascular system, especially HEART SEPTAL DEFECTS; or passageways intentionally made during cardiovascular surgical procedures.
Methods utilizing the principles of MICROFLUIDICS for sample handling, reagent mixing, and separation and detection of specific components in fluids.
Devices, not affixed to the body, designed to help persons having musculoskeletal or neuromuscular disabilities to perform activities involving movement.
Artificial substitutes for body parts, and materials inserted into tissue for functional, cosmetic, or therapeutic purposes. Prostheses can be functional, as in the case of artificial arms and legs, or cosmetic, as in the case of an artificial eye. Implants, all surgically inserted or grafted into the body, tend to be used therapeutically. IMPLANTS, EXPERIMENTAL is available for those used experimentally.
Products or parts of products used to detect, manipulate, or analyze light, such as LENSES, refractors, mirrors, filters, prisms, and OPTICAL FIBERS.
Intrauterine contraceptive devices that depend on the release of metallic copper.
Psychoanalytic theory focusing on interpretation of behavior in reference to self. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Terms, 1994) This elaboration of the psychoanalytic concepts of narcissism and the self, was developed by Heinz Kohut, and stresses the importance of the self-awareness of excessive needs for approval and self-gratification.