Question

How is a clinical trial for a medical device similar to or different from a clinical trial for a drug?

Answer 1

The study for a clinical trial for a drug is similar to the study for a clinical trial for a medical device in the following ways

• Both the studies involve a control group.
• Both the trials can compare to the approved therapies.

The clinical trials for a drug differ from the clinical trials for a medical device in the following ways

Clinical trial for a drug	Clinical trial for a medical device
Randomization of samples is common.	Often there is no randomization
Involves large population with the use of placebos	Small populations and rarely uses placebos
Difficulty in visualization	Ability to visualization
Ability to "blind" the samples	Difficult to "blind"