YOUR IMPLANT INFORMATION
How to identify an implanted medical device
Start with your implant card and the hospital or specialist team responsible for the procedure. Ask them to confirm the exact implant and any associated components. A product database can help explain a known identifier, but it cannot establish which device was implanted in you.
Start with the record of your procedure
Gather the implant card and any correspondence you already have about the operation. Note the hospital, specialist and approximate date. If you do not have the details, contact that hospital through its official patient records or clinical team route and ask where to request your implant information.
A useful request is: “Please could you confirm the manufacturer, model or product reference and any serial or lot numbers for my implant, including its location, implantation date and associated components?” Not every item will have all of these fields.
Keep different implants separate
Your record may need entries for a heart device, joint replacement, cochlear implant, neurostimulator or another implant. Use the description in the source record. Keep the location and side where relevant, and do not apply instructions for one implant type to another.
If your question is specifically about a heart device, our pacemaker identification guide explains how to organise its card details.
What can a UDI or barcode tell me?
A unique device identifier (UDI) can identify the manufacturer’s product version or model and may include production details such as a serial or batch number. The FDA’s AccessGUDID database contains product information, not a register of which patient received which implant. It does not contain the individual production identifier.
A successful barcode read is therefore a starting point for interpreting a label. Match it back to your source record and ask the clinical team about any uncertainty. Do not assume a product with a similar name is yours.
If the information is incomplete
Keep the confirmed facts and mark the gaps. Tell the team why you need the information and whether a scan or treatment is being planned. Ask who will follow up and how you will receive the answer.
For MRI, disclose all implants and relevant surgery to the scanning team. The NHS screening process asks about metal in the body and previous operations. The team decides what further checks are needed. A digital record is not a universal MRI safety label.
Turn confirmed details into a record you control
Once you have a reliable source, organise each implant into its own entry. Check letters, numbers, dates and component relationships carefully. Keep a note of the source and preserve the original card.
ImplantPassport is designed to make that information easier to read, update and carry. Its card reader extracts text you provide; it does not identify an implant from a scar or access a hidden hospital record.
Questions you may have
Can a public device database find my implant from my name?
No. AccessGUDID is a product database and does not contain patient identities. Your clinical records are the route to establishing what was implanted.
Does identifying the implant establish whether a treatment is safe?
No. Identification supplies information for the treating team’s assessment. The circumstances of the procedure and your individual care still need to be considered.
YOUR NEXT STEP WITH IMPLANTPASSPORT
Different implants. One readable personal record.
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