The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 22, 2016, proposed a rule to reclassify the cranial electrotherapy stimulator (CES) devices intended to treat insomnia and/or anxiety, a preamendments class III device, into class II (special controls) and subject to premarket notification, and to require the filing of a premarket approval application (PMA) for CES devices intended to treat depression.

This proposed rule is open for comment through April 21, 2016.

FDA is proposing the reclassification of CES devices intended to treat insomnia and/or anxiety under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) based on new information pertaining to the device. This proposed action would implement certain statutory requirements. FDA is also clarifying the identification for CES devices in this proposed order by identifying CES as a prescription device that applies electrical current that is not intended to induce a seizure to a patient’s head to treat psychiatric conditions. This clarification distinguishes CES from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).