COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/42/EEC
(5 September 2007)
ANNEX IV
EC VERIFICATION
1. EC verification is the procedure whereby the manufacturer or his authorized representative ensures and declares that the products which have been subject to the procedure set out in Section 4 conform to the type described in the EC type-examination certificate and meet the requirements of this Directive which apply to them.
2. The manufacturer must take all the measures necessary to ensure that the manufacturing process produces products which conform to the type described in the EC type-examination certificate and to the requirements of the Directive which apply to them. Before the start of manufacture, the manufacturer must prepare documents defining the manufacturing process, in particular as regards sterilization where necessary, together with all the routine, pre-established provisions to be implemented to ensure homogeneous production and, where appropriate, conformity of the products with the type described in the EC type-examination certificate and with the requirements of this Directive which apply to them. The manufacturer must affix the CE marking in accordance with Article 17 and draw up a declaration of conformity.
In addition, for products placed on the market in sterile condition, and only for those aspects of the manufacturing process designed to secure and maintain sterility, the manufacturer must apply the provisions of Annex V, Sections 3 and 4.
3. The manufacturer must undertake to institute and keep up to date a systematic procedure to review experience gained from devices in the post-production phase, including the provisions referred to in Annex X, and to implement appropriate means to apply any necessary corrective action. This undertaking must include an obligation for the manufacturer to notify the competent authorities of the following incidents immediately on learning of them:
(i) any malfunction or deterioration in the characteristics and/or performance of a device, as well as any inadequacy in the labelling or the instructions for use which might lead to or might have led to the death of a patient or user or to a serious deterioration in his state of health;
(ii) any technical or medical reason connected with the characteristics or performance of a device for the reasons referred to in subparagraph (i) leading to systematic recall of devices of the same type by the manufacturer.
4. The notified body must carry out the appropriate examinations and tests in order to verify the conformity of the product with the requirements of the Directive either by examining and testing every product as specified in Section 5 or by examining and testing products on a statistical basis as specified in Section 6, as the manufacturer decides.
The aforementioned checks do not apply to those aspects of the manufacturing process designed to secure sterility.
5. Verification by examination and testing of every product
5.1. Every product is examined individually and the appropriate tests defined in the relevant standard(s) referred to in Article 5 or equivalent tests must be carried out in order to verify, where appropriate, the conformity of the products with the EC type described in the type-examination certificate and with the requirements of the Directive which apply to them.
5.2. The notified body must affix, or have affixed its identification number to each approved product and must draw up a written certificate of conformity relating to the tests carried out.
6. Statistical verification
6.1. The manufacturer must present the manufactured products in the form of homogeneous batches.
6.2. A random sample is taken from each batch. The products which make up the sample are examined individually and the appropriate tests defined in the relevant standard(s) referred to in Article 5 or equivalent tests must be carried out to verify, where appropriate, the conformity of the products with the type described in the EC type-examination certificate and with the requirements of the Directive which apply to them in order to determine whether to accept or reject the batch.
6.3. Statistical control of products will be based on attributes and/or variables, entailing sampling schemes with operational characteristics which ensure a high level of safety and performance according to the state of the art. The sampling schemes will be established by the harmonised standards referred to in Article 5, taking account of the specific nature of the product categories in question.
6.4. If the batch is accepted, the notified body affixes or has affixed its identification number to each product and draws up a written certificate of conformity relating to the tests carried out. All products in the batch may be put on the market except any in the sample which failed to conform.
If a batch is rejected, the competent notified body must take appropriate measures to prevent the batch from being placed on the market. In the event of frequent rejection of batches, the notified body may suspend the statistical verification.
The manufacturer may, on the responsibility of the notified body, affix the notified body’s identification number during the manufacturing process.
7. Administrative provisions
The manufacturer or his authorised representative must, for a period ending at least five years, and in the case of implantable devices at least 15 years, after the last product has been manufactured, make available to the national authorities:
- the declaration of conformity,
- the documentation referred to in Section 2,
- the certificates referred to in Sections 5.2 and 6.4,
- where appropriate, the type-examination certificate referred to in Annex III.
8. Application to devices in Class IIa
In line with Article 11 (2), this Annex may apply to products in Class IIa, subject to the following:
8.1. in derogation from Sections 1 and 2, by virtue of the declaration of conformity the manufacturer ensures and declares that the products in Class IIa are manufactured in conformity with the technical documentation referred to in Section 3 of Annex VII and meet the requirements of this Directive which apply to them;
8.2. in derogation from Sections 1, 2, 5 and 6, the verifications conducted by the notified body are intended to confirm the conformity of the products in Class IIa with the technical documentation referred to in Section 3 of Annex VII.
9. Application to devices referred to in Article 1(4a)
In the case of section 5, upon completing the manufacture of each batch of devices referred to in Article 1(4a), and in the case of verification under section 6, the manufacturer shall inform the notified body of the release of this batch of devices and send to it the official certificate concerning the release of the batch of human blood derivative used in the device issued by a State laboratory or a laboratory designated for that purpose by a Member State in accordance with Article 114(2) of Directive 2001/83/EC.