St.Jude Collaborates With Microsoft HealthVault

The work in progress will allow an implanted chip to send information directly to the Microsoft HealthVault...the Merlin system is already set up to transmit to a hospital EHR...so in short it transmits cardiac information...the physician could access the patient device information at any time with an EHR and the same potential here is being examined on doing the same with sending the information to the HealthVault as well....BD

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) today announced a partnership with the Microsoft Corp. Health Solutions Group to research the integration of data from implantable devices with patient-controlled, personal health records. St. Jude Medical and Microsoft will work with physicians to determine the optimal level of integration (between the Merlin.net™ Patient Care Network and Microsoft® HealthVault) that will allow physicians to efficiently and confidentially share device information with their patients.

Merlin.net PCN is a secure Internet-based system that collects and displays information from implantable devices, such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). It stores data that is captured during implant procedures, in-office follow-up visits with physicians and remote follow-up transmissions in patients’ homes. Transmitted data includes reports of irregular heart rhythms and real-time electrograms (EGM) which show patients’ heartbeats at the time of transmission.