26 January 2024

Blog

How the GMDN Agency is supporting Latin American medical device regulators and manufacturers – by Dr. Luís Carraça, Senior Nomenclature Developer at the GMDN Agency

In our efforts to increase global reach and use of the Global Medical Device Nomenclature (GMDN) and to support
our stakeholders, we remain committed to increasing the availability of GMDN translations in selected languages. In this blog post, I am happy to share some of the latest achievements of the GMDN Translation Project, especially in
relation to our support to Latin American countries.

 

GMDN Terms Translations

GMDN Terms are the individual names assigned to each medical device in the GMDN database. There are currently around 25,000 active GMDN Terms, covering a wide range of medical devices from simple
bandages to complex pacemakers.

We have been translating GMDN Terms into Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish, two of the most widely spoken languages in Latin America and the world. These translations are available for our members to view on the Term Details and Explorer pages via the Advanced search functionality. 

This month, we have added approximately 6,000 new GMDN Terms translated into Brazilian Portuguese. For Spanish, we have added circa 3,000 new GMDN Terms translations and updated another 3,000. The completion of these batches takes the current available translations in Portuguese and Spanish to nearly 17,000 Terms each, corresponding to 67% of active GMDN Terms.

 These translations were done for all GMDN Terms assigned to DI records registered in the FDA’s AccessGUDID database as of early 2023, effectively making GMDN translations in Spanish and Portuguese available for all products currently sold in the US market, and beyond. In addition to GUDID Terms, all Terms for implantable devices in the GMDN database have also been translated into these languages, as part of a prioritisation task list based on high-risk devices.

These achievements are significant for the GMDN Agency and our stakeholders, as they enable us to further enhance our support to Latin American countries and others that use Portuguese and Spanish as their official or working languages. We believe that having GMDN Terms available in these languages will facilitate better communication and collaboration among regulators, manufacturers, healthcare providers, and patients in the region and globally.

Full available translation datasets for selected languages may also be obtained via our file sharing FTP service.

 

GMDN Categories Translations

GMDN Categories are the hierarchical groups that organise the GMDN Terms according to their intended use and
function. There are currently over 2,600 GMDN Categories.

We have been translating GMDN Categories into several languages, including Portuguese and Spanish. These translations are available on our website and can be accessed by anyone, regardless of membership type.

This month, we have also completed and published the updates of the available translations of GMDN Categories for these languages. The aim of these updates is to improve the readability and terminology consistency in relation to GMDN Terms. Translation updates of Categories are done on a regular basis, keeping the Categories translations close to a 100% completion level for selected languages.

We hope that having GMDN Categories available in these languages will help our users to navigate and understand the GMDN database better, as well as to identify and select the appropriate GMDN Terms for their medical devices.

 

Conclusion

The GMDN Agency is committed to supporting the global use and implementation of the GMDN. The GMDN is the leading global standard for the naming, classification and categorisation of medical devices.

Our nomenclature provides Healthcare Professionals, Regulators, Manufacturers and others with a common
language to communicate and share information. GMDN enables safer and more effective patient care, fosters innovation and collaboration in the medical device industry, and supports global harmonisation of regulatory requirements.

The GMDN Translation Project is one of our key initiatives to achieve this goal, by providing GMDN Terms and
categories in key world languages.

We are proud of the progress we have made in translating GMDN Terms and Categories into Portuguese and Spanish, two of the most widely spoken languages in Latin America and the world. We believe that these translations will benefit our stakeholders in the region and globally, by facilitating the communication and collaboration among regulators, manufacturers, healthcare providers, and patients.

We would like to thank our members and partners for their support and feedback on the GMDN Translation Project.

 

Other languages supported in the GMDN

As a global organisation the GMDN Agency supports several language translations in respect of GMDN Categories and Terms.

Our supported languages are listed below. 

GMDN Categories Translations

Arabic – اللغة العربية (In development)

Brazilian Portuguese – Português do Brasil

Chinese (Simplified) – 中文

Danish – Dansk

Dutch – Nederlands

English – English

French – Français

German – Deutsch

Italian – Italiano

Japanese –日本語

Norwegian – Norsk

Polish – Polski

Russian – Русский

Spanish – Español

Swedish – Svenska

GMDN Categories translations are available for the above supported languages.

 

GMDN Terms Translations

Brazilian Portuguese – Português do Brasil

English – English

French – Français

Russian – Русский

Spanish – Español

GMDN Terms translations are available for the above supported languages.

They can be viewed on the Term Details and Explorer pages via the Advanced search functionality.

Full available translation datasets for selected languages may also be obtained via our file sharing FTP service. Please contact us for more information.