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Diagnostic equipment: medical imaging machines, ultrasound and MRI machines, PET and CT scanners, and x-ray machines.

Life support equipment is used maintain a patient's bodily function: medical ventilators, heart-lung machines, ECMO, and dialysis machines.

Therapeutic equipment: infusion pumps, medical lasers and LASIK surgical machines.

Medical monitors: ECG, EEG, blood pressure, and dissolved gases in the blood.

Medical laboratory equipment: to help analyze blood, urine, and genes.

Implants: Made to replace and act as a missing biological structure (as compared with a transplant. Implants may contain electronics e.g. artificial pacemaker and cochlear implants. Other implants are bioactive, such as (subcutaneous) drug delivery devices in the form of implantable pills or drug-eluting stents. In orthopedic surgery, implants may refer to devices that are placed over or within bones to hold a fracture, while prosthesis would be the more appropriate term for devices that replace a part or whole of a defunct joint. In this context implants may be placed within the body (internal) or placed outside the body (external). Dental implants are one of the few medical devices which permanently cross the boundary between the inside and the outside of the body, since the base of the implant is osseointegrated in the bone of the mandible or maxilla and the top of the implant is in the mouth, where it can be crowned with an artificial tooth.

Artificial limbs: are a type of prosthesis that replaces a missing extremity, such as arms and legs. The type of artificial limb used is determined largely by the extent of an amputation or loss and location of the missing extremity.

Corrective lenses: are lenses worn in front of the eye, mainly used to treat myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Glasses or "spectacles" are worn on the face a short distance in front of the eye. Contact lenses are worn directly on the surface of the eye. Intraocular lenses are surgically implanted most commonly after cataract removal, but recently for purely refractive purposes. Myopia (near sightedness) requires a divergent lens, whereas hyperopia (far sightedness) requires convergent lens.

Cochlear implants: (CI) are surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. Unlike hearing aids, the cochlear implant does not amplify sound, but works by directly stimulating any functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with electrical impulses.

Dental implants: are artificial teeth root replacements used in prosthetic dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth.

Home care medical appliances: used in the community, home, and health care facilities, would include: crutches, wheel chairs, motorized scooters, walkers, bathroom assistance utilities for entering and exiting tubs, showers, commodes, etc.

As always, the articles in this category, along with the comments thereon and other elements, are intended to inform as well as generate interest in and interaction between individuals, their family, and/or support team.