EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management GMDN

The problem is it might not be "nice", easy or logical but it is "the one" so like it or not we have to go with the flow.
Robert

Yeah ... that's the way progress is made.

Good luck with all that Robert, I'll leave you to it Mate.

Does anyone have any information about the Italian *CIVAB system of equipment codes?

- Basic structure?
- Outline of the idea?
- Anything special about them?
- Are they still being used?
- Does the Si3C system use these codes?

And (whilst I'm on here), I heard a few (five or more) years ago that "the WHO is working towards a unified nomenclature system that can be used globally":-

- Has anyone heard anything more about that one?
- Was (is) it GMDN (or UMDNS)?
- Or **YAGMDNS?

* Developed, I believe, for the Italian Ministry of Health some years ago by TBS - and (possibly) based upon an earlier coding system known as ACMAGEST (?)

** Yet Another Global Medical Device Nomenclature System

OK guys; I've found what I was looking for (the basics, anyway).

It seems that a CIVAB code is an "eight-character string" that identifies a model of biomedical equipment. The code comprises:-

1) Equipment class (3 chars)
2) Manufacturer (3 chars)
3) Model (2 chars)

For example:- DEF HPI 20 indicates "Defibrillator, Hewlett-Packard, 43120-A"

And yes, the Si3C system does (or certainly did) use such codes as these.

But what is not clear is that when the complete CIVAD code needs to be quoted, is it given as:-

1) DEF HPI 20 (ie, with spaces)
2) DEF-HPI-20 (10 chars)
3) DEFHPI20 (and parsed by the system)

Whilst looking for something else, I've just stumbled across this list.

It's about "Expected Equipment Lifespans", and uses both GMDN and UMDNS codes.

Although I must say that it all looks a bit "random" to me! The table would have been so much more useful if it had included the Risk Factor (as mentioned in the premable) for each item, as well as the "formula" used to arrive at it.

Geoff, Whilst looking at your list I did notice that the last update to the list was 2004, and that the list contained instruments and other stuff not related to BME. I have found a different list, does not say when it was last updated but does only contain medical equipment.

https://ohiocea.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/medical-equipment-life-expectancy-list.pdf

Very good, Neil (and I'm guessing 2011).

But ... no Codes!

And no clues as to the criteria used to arrive at the life expectancy figures.

Hi Geoff,as a Si3C user the "name" is presented as:HEARTSTREAM XL M4735A within the model search facility, as long as you use the % in the string the seach returns any similar item.
Unfortunatly, I believe that CIVAB is no longer being updated.
As an aside what data base does ITAL GB use??

Malcolm.

Cheers for that, Malcolm.

Are you saying that Si3C doesn't use "codes", then (CIVAB, nor any other) ... but just relies on a Model string?

How does it get on with our (oft-cited) "Dinamap" problem? In other words, how well does the system discriminate between different names (strings) for the same equipment?

I have also wondered about TBS-GB ... but have no information on that score (athough someone I knew there did once admit to using Ansur).

Hi Geoff, I'm loosing the ability to write in english these days(not that my italian is any better!!!!)
Si3C is firmly (obsessively) based on CIVAB,as it is no longer kept uptodate?? we are seeing some holes appearing,however for the older equipment someone has gone to the trouble to input almost all the models available in europe(for example searching the db for "dinamap returns 69 different models split between Monitor and NIBP types.
I would assume Dr John can respond to the type of db the TBS-GB uses.
As for ANSUR I met a few years ago on a course hosted by SLT Milan (Fluke distributor for Italy) an engineer from TBS GB who had been given a project(cue Sisyphus) to convert the word based PM protocols to run in ANSUR........

Malcolm.