Business of the heart

Biotronik could say that it understands matters of the heart - in the scientific sense, of course. Its research team, led by 45-year-old engineer Hans-Juergen Wildau, even has written proof of this, as it can "teach" a patient's heart to send emails and text messages to a doctor.

Emails from the heart

This breakthrough is the result of long years of research, which started with the question: How can patients with pacemakers be spared excessive routine check-ups? The answer is an IT-based service called Home Monitoring. It allows a doctor to monitor the heart function of a patient via a remote computer and "bring the doctor and patient together, no matter where they are in the world," according to Wildau.

This communication is achieved via the mobile phone network, while the pacemaker takes on the extra role of a sensor that accompanies the patient 24 hours a day. The principle is simple, but turning it into reality is far more complicated - which is why the invention has been thoroughly patented.

To achieve wireless transmission from the patient's body, the most modern type of pacemaker is necessary. Around 200,000 people in the world currently possess one of them, with the number constantly growing.

The pacemaker is fitted with a mini-transmitter and antenna. Once a day, all relevant heart data is sent to a special telephone, which in turn transmits it via the mobile-phone network to a service center. The information travels on specially-designated wave bands - 402 to 405 megahertz - which are protected by an international convention and which can only be used for transmitting data from medical implants.

Machines reduce human work

At the service center, evaluation software analyzes data from 40,000 patients per day. When something unusual happens, a doctor is alerted via email, text message or fax, and they can check the patient's data on a special website. The company's studies have shown that this remote supervision can eliminate over half of all routine medical check-ups.

The monitoring process also classifies patients according to a color-coded system. Yellow means the patient should see the doctor every now and then. Red means the patient should go to the doctor soon. However, it does not serve as an alarm in emergency situations, because the patients' implants can send these kinds of alerts themselves.

"From the point of view of the patient, it's absolutely necessary that the doctor is immediately informed when the situation changes," said Wildau.

Author: Richard A. Fuchs (ew)

Editor: Kate Bowen