St. Jude Medical launches Merlin.net upgrade

Global medical device company St. Jude Medical announced the launch of the newest version of its Merlin.net Patient Care Network (PCN). The network organizes information about patient heart rhythms, device therapy and device performance, which is captured in implantable cardiac devices. It also allows the data to be sent directly to a clinic or hospital’s electronic health record system.

Version 5.0 features an alert notification system that will contact a physician on his or her mobile device when a patient has an event triggering an alert. The physician can read the alert transmission directly, in addition to being able to immediately access electrocardiograms, the patient’s contact info and other key information, instead of having to log into a computer to access patient records, which is difficult when out of the office. It also will allow the physician to respond and follow up more quickly.

The DirectAlerts notifications can be customized to one’s schedule and are compatible with several mobile devices, including the iPhone, Android, iPad and Blackberry.

St. Jude’s Merlin platform will be the basis for monitoring technology, which the company has stated they hope to introduce in India, though no time line was specified.