WARNING LETTER
WAVi Co.
MARCS-CMS 658549 —
October 20, 2023
Delivery Method:
VIA UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
Product:
Medical Devices
Recipient:
Recipient Name
Mr. David S. Oakley
Recipient Title
Chief Executive Officer
WAVi Co.
3459 Ringsby Ct Ste 305
Denver
,
CO
80216-4934
United States
davido@wavimed.com
Issuing Office:
Division of Medical Device and Radiological Health Operations West
United States
WARNING LETTER
CMS # 658549
October 20, 2023
Dear Mr. Oakley:
During an inspection of your firm, WAVi Co. (WAVi or the firm), located in Denver, Colorado on March 23, 2023, through March 29, 2023, an investigator from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that WAVi manufactures and distributes the “WAVi Desktop” consisting of WAVi headsets, WAVi eSoc single use electrodes, electrode contacts, Electronic Processing Units (EPU), ear clips, Heart Rate Variability ear clips, and laptops with WAVi Desktop software. During our March 2022 inspection at your firm, we note that you also referred to this device as the “Complete WAVi System,” “WAVi Kit,” and “WAVi Research Kit” interchangeably. We will refer to the device as “WAVi Desktop” throughout this letter. The WAVi Desktop is intended to collect, analyze, and clinically interpret data to aid in the assessment or diagnosis of patients with a variety of potential neurological conditions. Under section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act), 21 U.S.C. § 321(h), this product is a device because it is intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or function of the body.
We received a response from you on April 28, 2023, concerning our investigator’s observations noted on the Form FDA 483 (FDA 483), List of Inspectional Observations, that was issued to your firm. We address this response below, in relation to each of the noted violations.
Unapproved Device Violations
The inspection revealed that the WAVi Desktop is adulterated under section 501(f)(1)(B) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 351(f)(1)(B), because your firm does not have an approved application for premarket approval (PMA) in effect pursuant to section 515(a) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360e(a), or an approved application for an investigational device exemption (IDE) under section 520(g) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360j(g) for the device as described and marketed. Additionally, the WAVi Desktop is also misbranded under section 502(o) the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352(o), because your firm introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce for commercial distribution this device without submitting a premarket notification to FDA as required by section 510(k) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360(k), and 21 CFR 807.81(a)(1).
Your firm is currently promoting and distributing the WAVi Desktop, which includes electroencephalograph (EEG), event-related potentials (ERP), and heart rate variability (HRV) data collection, analysis, and clinical interpretation to aid in the assessment or diagnosis of patients with a variety of potential neurological conditions. Labeling in your WAVi Instruction Manual provided to customers contains, but not limited to, evidence that the device is intended to aid in the evaluation of autonomic nervous system function, head injury, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and cognitive function.
Your firm does not have a PMA or a 510(k) for the WAVi Desktop. During our inspection, your firm stated that the WAVi Desktop is for research use only. However, your firm did not provide evidence that your firm has an approved application for an investigational device exemption (IDE) under section 520(g) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360j(g), or that the WAVi Desktop is exempt from the requirement to have an IDE.
We reviewed your firm’s response and concluded it is not adequate. Your letter indicated that studies to build the WAVi Scan product were IDE exempt and that the WAVi Desktop is not subject to 21 CFR 812. However, the response did not include evidence to support this.
Furthermore, based on our review of materials collected during the inspection and statements on your firm’s website, this device is used for purposes other than research. Specifically, during the inspection you provided a list of recent publications and studies accompanied by a list of recent academic partners. However, your list of customers that was collected by our investigator is far more extensive than these academic partners.
Additionally, information on your website suggests that this device is used for purposes other than research. FDA reviewed your firm’s website, which states “The WAVi system uses well-established evoked EEG technology to record electrical signatures of the brain, providing doctors, researchers and wellness experts with actionable, data-driven reports.” This statement, along with your firm’s customer list, suggests that you have distributed the device to non-academic partners for purposes other than research. Furthermore, use of the WAVi Desktop in clinical practice was observed to be promoted on your firm’s website, https://wavimed.com/, as demonstrated by multiple testimonials. Examples include:
• “In bringing the best of medicine and technology to my patients, WAVi provides the objective measurements I need to assess their brain function in every step of their treatment and recovery.” – Dr. Marcela Madera, Neuro Rehab Specialist MD, MPH
• “What I love about WAVi is you can sit down with a patient, real-time, and explain to them with their results, as a dashboard, what is going on in their brain.” – Dr. Davis Brockenshire, Doctor of Chiropractic
• “As we reverse cardiovascular abnormalities I’ve always suspected we were protecting the brain as it ages but I could never measure or prove it. With a WAVi brain scan I can measure brain speed and brain power and intervene and watch those things change.” – Dr. Jeffrey
The testimonials from Dr. Marcela Madera and Dr. Davis Brockenshire also appear on the WAVi brochure that was collected during our March 2023 inspection.
Additionally, your firm’s website, https://wavimed.com/find-a-pactitioner/, allows consumers to search for such customers where the WAVi Desktop is offered. Examples include:
• A "brain spa”, which offers use of the WAVi Desktop for insights into cardiovascular health, anxiety, depression, neurological trauma, and autonomic nervous system function among other clinical uses;
• A “heart institute”, which offers use of the WAVi Desktop as part of their dementia prevention care services;
• A “medical spa”, which offers use of the WAVi Desktop for insights into cardiovascular fitness, concussion, ADHD, and anxiety among other clinical uses.
Quality System Regulations (QSR) Violations
Our inspection also revealed that the WAVi Desktop device is adulterated within the meaning of section 501(h) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 351(h), in that the methods used in, or the facilities or controls used for, their manufacture, packing, storage, or installation are not in conformity with the current good manufacturing practice requirements of the Quality System regulation found at Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 820.
These violations include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Failure to perform validation of device software as required by 21 CFR 820.30(g). Specifically,
Your firm distributed at least 90 WAVi Complete Systems consisting of WAVi Headsets, WAVi eSoc single use electrodes, electrode contacts, Electronic Processing Units [EPU], ear clips, Heart Rate Variability [HRV] ear clips, and laptops with non-validated WAVi Desktop research software in years 2022 and 2023. During the inspection, you stated that the software is pending verification and validation, and that customers sign an End User Licensing Agreement because the device is not cleared. You stated that the research software has Artificial Intelligence (AI) codes & capabilities.
Your response stated that “there is no requirement for research software to be validated” and that the software is not a medical device (SaMD) or indicated for any clinical application.
We reviewed your response and conclude that it is not adequate. Under 21 CFR 820.30(g), there is a requirement for the software to be validated. Additionally, as noted previously, your WAVi Desktop is a medical device. Furthermore, your firm has not provided evidence of an approved application for an IDE or evidence that the WAVi Desktop is exempt from the requirement to have an IDE. In response to this warning letter, please provide evidence of corrective actions in the form of documentation of validation of device software or compliance with IDE requirements.
2. Failure to validate a process whose results cannot be fully verified by subsequent inspection and test as required by 21 CFR 820.75(a). Specifically,
Your Electrical Processing Unit (EPU) Quality Check Procedure, QP 1185, Rev. 5, provides instructions on how to verify that the WAVi Desktop’s EPU is working properly. However, the EPU Test Fixture has not been qualified or validated.
Your response stated that the observation is incorrect as the EPU is a component of the WAVi Desktop and does not have the same indication as the headset. Additionally, you stated that the EPU Test Fixture is simply to test for continuity of broken wires and therefore, the term validated may not apply.
We reviewed your response and conclude that, while we agree that the EPU Quality Check Procedure would not apply to the headset, the response is not adequate. The EPU Test Fixture appears to be used to verify that a component of the WAVi Desktop is working properly and you have not provided a rationale as to why the EPU Test Fixture is not qualified and the test process verified or validated.
3. Failure to adequately maintain device history records that include or refer to the acceptance records which demonstrate the device is manufactured in accordance with the DMR as required by 21 CFR 820.184(d). Specifically,
You are not maintaining device history records as follows: 1. invoice #180666, dated 3/22/2022 for the production of two XL headsets did not include the production traveler or intermediate quality check of the headsets. 2. invoice #180879, dated 12/21/2022 for the production of a WAVi Desktop, documented as a “Complete WAVi System,” did not include the EPU Quality Check Form for testing of the EPU.
Your response stated that you are no longer producing XL headsets and that your firm will be performing a statistical sample review on every 3rd DHR from 2022-2023.
We reviewed your response and conclude that it is not adequate. If you do not plan on producing or including XL headsets, you should change your device master record (DMR)/labeling accordingly. Also, you have not justified why you are only sampling every 3rd DHR.
4. Failure to maintain device master records as required by 21 CFR 820.181. Specifically,
You do not have a DMR that includes the EPU. During the inspection, you provided a DMR Index. However, this form does not discuss the EPU.
We reviewed your response and concluded that it is not adequate because the response did not address this observation.
5. Failure to establish procedures for, and conduct, quality audits as required by 21 CFR 820.22. Specifically,
Your Internal Audits Quality Procedure, QP 1240, has not been established and implemented in that your procedure states to perform an audit yearly at a minimum or more frequently if determined necessary. However, you did not conduct audits in 2020, 2021, or 2022.
Your response stated that you did not conduct audits due to “COVID restrictions” and due to closure of your Englewood, Colorado facility. You stated that you have an audit scheduled for Q3 2023.
We reviewed your response and conclude that it is not adequate. You should provide updated audit procedures and evidence of your firm’s corrective actions that includes the date the most recent audit occurred and what audit procedures were followed.
Your firm should take prompt action to correct the violations addressed in this letter. Failure to adequately address this matter may result in regulatory action being initiated by the FDA without further notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, seizure, injunction, and civil money penalties.
Other federal agencies may take your compliance with the FD&C Act and its implementing regulations into account when considering the award of federal contracts. Additionally, should FDA determine that you have Quality System regulation violations that are reasonably related to premarket approval applications for Class III devices, such devices will not be approved until the violations have been addressed. Should FDA determine that your devices or facilities do not meet the requirements of the Act, requests for Certificates to Foreign Governments (CFG) may not be granted.
Please notify this office in writing within fifteen (15) business days from the date you receive this letter of the specific steps your firm has taken to address the noted violations, as well as an explanation of how your firm plans to prevent these violations, or similar violations, from occurring again. Include documentation of the corrections and/or corrective actions (which must address systemic problems) that your firm has taken. If your firm’s planned corrections and/or corrective actions will occur over time, please include a timetable for implementation of those activities. If corrections and/or corrective actions cannot be completed within fifteen business days, state the reason for the delay and the time within which these activities will be completed. Your firm’s response should be comprehensive and address any violations included in this Warning Letter. If you believe that your products are not in violation of the FD&C Act, include your reasoning and any supporting information for our consideration as part of your response.
Your firm’s response should be sent to: Jessica Mu, Director of Compliance Branch at oradevices3firmresponse@fda.hhs.gov Refer to CMS # 658549 when replying. If you have any questions about the contents of this letter, please contact: Raymond W. Brullo, Compliance Officer at 949-608-2918 or raymond.brullo@fda.hhs.gov.
Finally, you should know that this letter is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of the violations at your firm’s facility. It is your firm’s responsibility to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations administered by FDA. The specific violations noted in this letter and in the Inspectional Observations, FDA 483, issued at the close of the inspection may be symptomatic of serious problems in your firm’s manufacturing and quality management systems. Your firm should investigate and determine the causes of any violations and take prompt actions to address any violations and bring the products into compliance.
Sincerely,
/S/
Shari J. Shambaugh
Program Division Director
Office of Medical Devices and Radiological Health
Division 3/West
/S/
CAPT Nina Mezu-Nwaba, Pharm D., MPH., MSc
Deputy Director
OHT5: Office of Neurological & Physical Medicine Devices
Office of Product Evaluation and Quality
Center for Devices and Radiological Health
Content current as of:
10/31/2023
Regulated Product(s)
Medical Devices