
Medical devices are used to help power the heart, deliver drugs, diagnose disease, obtain x-rays, and carry out a variety of tasks. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines medical devices as instruments, lab equipment, reagents, test kits, implants, or related accessories that are intended for use in diagnosing, preventing, or treating disease or used to affect the function or structure of the body. (See the complete FDA definition.)
An antibody assays such as the ELISA assay shown in the image is an examples of a medical device.