A control device for a medical system is provided. The medical system may be a medical diagnosis and/or medical therapy system. The medical system may include a control unit operable to be used to carry out control processes that control the medical system, and a mobile handheld control unit operable to control at least one controllable element of the medical system by a user. The control device may be configured so that one or more control processes may only be carried out by the control unit when the mobile handheld control unit is located at a predefined location.