This Technical Report will not attempt a formal, comprehensive definition of “nanomedicine”. Instead, it will provide a taxonomic framework for the development of vocabulary for clinical applications of nanotechnologies in human healthcare. While it is understood that the origins of nanotechnologies for healthcare applications emerge from pre-clinical and translational research, the interest of this Technical Report is to determine where these technologies will impact the clinical value chain and the practice of medicine.

This Technical Report is intended to facilitate communications between developers and users of nanotechnologies, deliverers and users of medicine including the pharmaceutical, research and medical communities, regulatory professionals, and additional organizations and individuals who might interact with these groups, including biotechnology, diagnostic, and medical device companies, the life sciences, patent attorneys and patent offices, institutional review boards, ethics review boards, and accreditation organizations.