diff --git a/docling/datamodel/pipeline_options.py b/docling/datamodel/pipeline_options.py
index fc78e27c..1a19bbd2 100644
--- a/docling/datamodel/pipeline_options.py
+++ b/docling/datamodel/pipeline_options.py
@@ -1,11 +1,19 @@
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 import warnings
 from enum import Enum
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Annotated, Any, Dict, List, Literal, Optional, Tuple, Type, Union
 
-from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, Field, field_validator, model_validator
+from pydantic import (
+    BaseModel,
+    ConfigDict,
+    Field,
+    field_validator,
+    model_validator,
+    validator,
+)
 from pydantic_settings import (
     BaseSettings,
     PydanticBaseSettingsSource,
@@ -33,6 +41,20 @@ class AcceleratorOptions(BaseSettings):
     num_threads: int = 4
     device: AcceleratorDevice = AcceleratorDevice.AUTO
 
+    @validator("device")
+    def validate_device(cls, value):
+        # Allow both Enum and str inputs
+        if isinstance(value, AcceleratorDevice):
+            return value
+        # Validate as a string
+        if value in {d.value for d in AcceleratorDevice} or re.match(
+            r"^cuda(:\d+)?$", value
+        ):
+            return AcceleratorDevice(value)
+        raise ValueError(
+            "Invalid device option. Use 'auto', 'cpu', 'mps', 'cuda', or 'cuda:N'."
+        )
+
     @model_validator(mode="before")
     @classmethod
     def check_alternative_envvars(cls, data: Any) -> Any:
diff --git a/docling/utils/accelerator_utils.py b/docling/utils/accelerator_utils.py
index 59b04796..8c930250 100644
--- a/docling/utils/accelerator_utils.py
+++ b/docling/utils/accelerator_utils.py
@@ -7,36 +7,62 @@
 _log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-def decide_device(accelerator_device: AcceleratorDevice) -> str:
+def decide_device(accelerator_device: str) -> str:
     r"""
-    Resolve the device based on the acceleration options and the available devices in the system
+    Resolve the device based on the acceleration options and the available devices in the system.
+
     Rules:
     1. AUTO: Check for the best available device on the system.
     2. User-defined: Check if the device actually exists, otherwise fall-back to CPU
     """
-    cuda_index = 0
     device = "cpu"
 
     has_cuda = torch.backends.cuda.is_built() and torch.cuda.is_available()
     has_mps = torch.backends.mps.is_built() and torch.backends.mps.is_available()
 
-    if accelerator_device == AcceleratorDevice.AUTO:
+    if accelerator_device == AcceleratorDevice.AUTO.value:  # Handle 'auto'
         if has_cuda:
-            device = f"cuda:{cuda_index}"
+            device = "cuda:0"
         elif has_mps:
             device = "mps"
 
-    else:
-        if accelerator_device == AcceleratorDevice.CUDA:
-            if has_cuda:
-                device = f"cuda:{cuda_index}"
-            else:
-                _log.warning("CUDA is not available in the system. Fall back to 'CPU'")
-        elif accelerator_device == AcceleratorDevice.MPS:
-            if has_mps:
-                device = "mps"
+    elif accelerator_device.startswith("cuda"):
+        if has_cuda:
+            # if cuda device index specified extract device id
+            parts = accelerator_device.split(":")
+            if len(parts) == 2 and parts[1].isdigit():
+                # select cuda device's id
+                cuda_index = int(parts[1])
+                if cuda_index < torch.cuda.device_count():
+                    device = f"cuda:{cuda_index}"
+                else:
+                    _log.warning(
+                        "CUDA device 'cuda:%d' is not available. Fall back to 'CPU'.",
+                        cuda_index,
+                    )
+            elif len(parts) == 1:  # just "cuda"
+                device = "cuda:0"
             else:
-                _log.warning("MPS is not available in the system. Fall back to 'CPU'")
+                _log.warning(
+                    "Invalid CUDA device format '%s'. Fall back to 'CPU'",
+                    accelerator_device,
+                )
+        else:
+            _log.warning("CUDA is not available in the system. Fall back to 'CPU'")
+
+    elif accelerator_device == AcceleratorDevice.MPS.value:
+        if has_mps:
+            device = "mps"
+        else:
+            _log.warning("MPS is not available in the system. Fall back to 'CPU'")
+
+    elif accelerator_device == AcceleratorDevice.CPU.value:
+        device = "cpu"
+
+    else:
+        _log.warning(
+            "Unknown device option '%s'. Fall back to 'CPU'", accelerator_device
+        )
 
     _log.info("Accelerator device: '%s'", device)
     return device
diff --git a/docs/examples/run_with_accelerator.py b/docs/examples/run_with_accelerator.py
index 5985401d..86715e6e 100644
--- a/docs/examples/run_with_accelerator.py
+++ b/docs/examples/run_with_accelerator.py
@@ -30,6 +30,11 @@ def main():
     #     num_threads=8, device=AcceleratorDevice.CUDA
     # )
 
+    # easyocr doesnt support cuda:N allocation
+    # accelerator_options = AcceleratorOptions(
+    #     num_threads=8, device="cuda:1"
+    # )
+
     pipeline_options = PdfPipelineOptions()
     pipeline_options.accelerator_options = accelerator_options
     pipeline_options.do_ocr = True