A Basic UDI-DI is intended to group all medical devices from a particular manufacturer that share the same intended purpose, risk class, essential design, manufacturing characteristics, and certification. It is a proprietary grouping mechanism that includes no high-level categorisation.
A Medical Device Nomenclature is intended to group devices which share common features (e.g., intended use, technology) from multiple manufacturers (non-proprietary grouping). The grouping is based on a Term name and, depending on the nomenclature, a definition. A Medical Device Nomenclature includes high-level categories.
In summary, a Basic UDI-DI is a proprietary grouper that e.g., helps condense numerous size variations within an individual manufacturer’s product line into a single group. A nomenclature on the other hand is a non-proprietary grouper that can be used for analysis of devices across the market and allows for high-level categorisation.