State urges FDA to ban unproven medical devices
Washington state officials are urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban numerous unproven and dangerous medical devices, saying their sale and use is "a national problem."
Attorney General Rob McKenna and Department of Health Secretary Mary Selecky have called for the FDA to take industrywide action, after a Seattle Times investigation highlighted problems with unproven "energy medicine" devices.
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The Times' series, "Miracle Machines," revealed how manufacturers and operators used unproven devices — some illegal, some dangerous — to misdiagnose diseases, divert critically ill people from lifesaving care and drain their bank accounts.
These victims are casualties in the growing field called "energy medicine" — alternative therapies based on the belief that the body has energy fields that can be manipulated to improve health. These devices can be as small as a television remote control or as large as a steamer trunk.
The full article can be read at
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004106867_fda04m.html