Unique Device Identification of surgical instruments by DataMatrix 2D barcodes
The Robert Ballanger Hospital is a 650 bed intercity hospital.
It has developed a project of Unique Device Identification (UDI) for surgical instruments and clinical services instruments. Over three years they will identify 10,000 operating theatre instruments using laser DataMatrix 2D barcodes, as well as 12,000 clinical services instruments.
The initial results, using laser technology to identify small instruments, were very promising. However, the project highlighted the necessity for regulation of the UDI. For this project EAN 128 codes were chosen, but other hospitals in France chose to use their own code. A regulation of the use of UDI would provide clarity and avoid a situation where every hospital develops its own UDI.