Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said today that it launched its MyCareLink Heart mobile application intended to connect users’ smartphone devices directly to the company’s portfolio of connected pacemakers, touting it as the first such mobile application of its kind.
The newly launched application is compatible with all of the Fridley, Minn.-based medical giant’s BlueSync technology-enabled pacers, and can wirelessly send device data to the company’s CareLink network, eliminating the need for dedicated bedside monitors and other remote monitoring tech.
“For the first time, pacemakers have the ability to communicate securely and directly with technology that patients use every day like smartphones and tablets. This brings the benefits of remote monitoring seamlessly into patients’ lives, potentially leading to enhanced and more efficient patient engagement with their physicians,” connectivity & insights biz GM Aisha Barry said in a press release.
Data collected by BlueSync-enabled pacers is encrypted and sent to the CareLink network through the mobile app, allowing physicians to monitor patients and receive alerts on clinically-relevant events, the company said.
The newly launched app also features the ability for patients to explore information about transmissions sent to their doctors and to receive confirmations of transmissions, track their vital signs and physical activity, display remaining battery life and catalog symptomatic events to be reviewed by physicians.
“The MyCareLink Heart mobile app is a technological game-changer for people with pacemakers. The introduction of convenient and secure data transmissions and easy access to information like pacemaker battery life changes how patients track and understand their heart health,” Dr. James Allred of Greensboro, N.C.’s Cone Health Medical Group Heartcare said in a prepared statement.
Earlier this month, major medtech players Medtronic and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) said they will continue to support the use of their paclitaxel-eluting devices in the legs after a study released last month indicated a link between the devices and an increased mortality rate.
