The Medicator Code

A single string that encodes identity, risk class and regulatory obligations of a medical device — filterable via SQL in any third-party system.

Why a dedicated code?

UDI-DI, EMDN or GMDN identify medical devices at the manufacturer level — but they do not help the operator who needs to know in their inventory: Which devices are radiation-relevant? Which need safety checks every 12 months? Which fall under critical infrastructure (KRITIS / NIS2)?

The Medicator Code answers exactly these questions. It is deliberately human-readable, greppable and SQL-filterable. A single column in the ERP, CMMS or maintenance system is enough to run all relevant queries without joins.

Structure

The code consists of two logical blocks, separated by hyphens:

Stem (3 segments, stable): DOMAIN–GROUP–MODEL
Compliance suffix (variable, derived from EUDAMED/MDR/local regulations): risk class, radiation protection, inspection interval, critical infrastructure, metrology control

NUK–PEC–DIM–IIB–R–S24

Example: GE Discovery MI — Nuclear medicine / PET-CT / Discovery MI, Class IIb, radiation protection required, inspection every 24 months

Stem — the first three segments

Segment	Meaning	Example
L1 — Domain	Medical speciality or environment	`MED`, `LAB`, `HNO`, `DEN`, `NUK`, `RAD`
L2 — Group	Functional device group within the domain	`ATM`, `IMG`, `INF`, `KAR`, `AUD`
L3 — Model	Concrete device model or subtype	`LZB`, `CT`, `ULT`, `DEF`, `HG`

Compliance suffixes

Suffix	Meaning	Legal basis
`I`, `IIA`, `IIB`, `III`	MDR risk class	EU 2017/745 (MDR), Annex VIII
`R`	Radiation protection (X-ray, CT, nuclear)	StrlSchV / EU BSS Directive 2013/59
`S12`, `S24`, `S36`	Safety check interval in months	§ 11 MPBetreibV / national operator rules
`M`	Metrology control required	§ 14 MPBetreibV
`K`	Critical infrastructure (KRITIS / NIS2)	BSI-KritisV / NIS2 Directive

Important: Suffixes are optional and are only assigned if they apply. A wheelchair (REH-MOB-RST-I) has no safety check suffix, no radiation flag. A pacemaker (MED-KAR-PAC-III-S12) on the other hand has class III and annual inspection.

Real-world examples

MED–ATM–LZB–IIB–S12–K

Draeger Evita V500 — long-term ventilator

ICU ventilator, MDR class IIb, annual inspection, critical infrastructure (emergency/ICU care)

MED–INF–SPR–IIB–S12–M

B. Braun Perfusor Space — syringe pump

Continuous infusion, MDR class IIb, 12-month inspection, metrology control (dose accuracy)

MED–IMG–CT–IIB–R–S12

Siemens Somatom Force — computed tomography

Whole-body CT, MDR class IIb, radiation protection, 12-month inspection

MED–IMG–ULT–IIA–S24

GE Voluson E10 — ultrasound

Obstetrics/gynecology, MDR class IIa, 24-month inspection

MED–KAR–DEF–III–S12–K

Philips HeartStart XL+ — defibrillator

Emergency defibrillation, MDR class III, annual inspection, critical infrastructure

DEN–IMG–DVT–IIB–R–S24

Sirona Orthophos SL — dental volumetric tomography

3D X-ray for dentistry, MDR class IIb, radiation protection, 24-month inspection

LAB–PRB–ZEN–I–S24

Eppendorf 5430 R — benchtop centrifuge

Sample preparation in the lab, MDR class I, 24-month inspection

HNO–AUD–HG–IIA

Phonak Audeo Paradise — hearing aid

Patient-worn device, MDR class IIa, no operator inspection required

Practical use

1. Inventory filtering in ERP or CMMS

The code lives in a single column of the equipment master. Every filter is a LIKE or regex match.

-- All ventilators (domain Medical / group Respiration)
SELECT * FROM devices WHERE code LIKE 'MED-ATM-%';

-- All class IIb devices with radiation protection
SELECT * FROM devices WHERE code ~ '-IIB-.*R';

2. Safety inspection planning

Which devices must be inspected every 12 months? A single regex on the code is enough.

SELECT code, serial, last_inspection FROM devices
WHERE code ~ '-S12(-|$)'
  AND last_inspection < NOW() - INTERVAL '11 months';

3. Critical infrastructure reporting

For regulators (BSI / NIS2): all critical-infrastructure devices in the hospital with their status.

SELECT code, count, location FROM devices_view
WHERE code ~ 'K(-|$)'
ORDER BY code;

4. Radiation protection audit

The radiation protection officer needs a list of all devices falling under the radiation protection regulation — regardless of the domain (radiology, dental, nuclear medicine, OR).

SELECT * FROM devices WHERE code ~ '-R(-|$)';

5. Metrology control scheduling

Metrology controls are only mandatory for certain devices (blood pressure, infusion pumps, scales). The code marks them directly.

SELECT * FROM devices WHERE code LIKE '%-M' OR code LIKE '%-M-%';

6. Replacement procurement

When a defective device is replaced by an equivalent one, the code stem stays the same. Replacement candidates can be compared directly.

-- All active devices of the same kind as the failed one
SELECT * FROM devices
WHERE code LIKE 'MED-ATM-LZB-%'
  AND status = 'active';

Advantages over UDI/EMDN

Aspect	UDI-DI	EMDN	Medicator Code
Unique product identification	Yes	Partially	At model level
Human-readable	No (14-digit number)	Partially	Yes
Encodes risk class	No	No	Yes
Encodes inspection interval	No	No	Yes
Encodes radiation protection	No	No	Yes
Encodes critical infrastructure	No	No	Yes
SQL/regex filterable	Exact match only	Hierarchical	Freely combinable

Not a replacement for UDI. The Medicator Code complements UDI and EMDN — it does not replace them. UDI remains responsible for EUDAMED registration, supply chain and traceability. The Medicator Code is the operational view of the same device: what do I need to do with it organizationally?

Integration with existing systems

The code is a simple VARCHAR field and can be inserted into almost any third-party system:

SAP: as a characteristic or free-text field on the equipment master (IE03)
Odoo Maintenance: as a tag or custom field on maintenance.equipment
CMMS / IWMS: as an asset type, maintenance plan key or classification
Custom databases: as an indexed VARCHAR(40) with B-tree for prefix search and GIN for regex

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