St. Jude Medical, which focuses on cardiac, neurological and chronic care technology, has received the European CE Mark for its Merlin.net Patient Care Network, an Internet-based remote care system that gathers and stores data from implanted cardiac devices.

The CE Mark certifies that a product has met EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements.

The Merlin.net Patient Care Network has been used in clinics and hospitals in the United States since it was released in 2008, St. Jude officials said. It is slated for launch in Europe this spring.

"The success of Merlin.net PCN in the United States has been built through a combination of tools that offer physicians more control over their patients' device monitoring and features that help their clinics run more efficiently," said Eric S. Fain, MD, president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division. "We are delighted to now offer these benefits to our customers and to patients in Europe."

The system includes a range of features designed to improve clinic efficiency and enhance patient care by giving physicians better and more immediate access to information. With its open architecture and standards-based interface, Merlin.net PCN can be fully integrated with all standard electronic health record systems in hospital or clinic settings.

Until recently, the only way for physicians to check on their patients' devices was for a patient to visit the clinic. Now, information from a patient's implanted device can be transmitted remotely from the patient's home, Fain said.

Patients with compatible devices can use the Merlin@home transmitter to send data directly from their devices to Merlin.net PCN. Physicians can use Merlin.net PCN to schedule the remote follow-up to take place at night, while the patient is sleeping.

Remote monitoring provides daily checks on the patient's device. If the check reveals an event that may require timely intervention, an alert will be posted on Merlin.net PCN and transmitted to the physician via email, fax or SMS text.

Alert-triggering events are not restricted to device performance, but also include clinical episodes such as atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillation and ST segment change notifications for remote disease management.

A key feature of Merlin.net PCN is DirectCall Message, an automated calling system that clinic staff can use to call patients with up to four pre-recorded messages in any of approximately 20 languages.

Implantable cardiac devices are designed to capture and record large volumes of data on device performance and patient heart rhythms vital to patient care.

Merlin.net PCN is a secure information network that stores this information for a minimum of seven years, allows data to be viewed over the Internet by select users and sends data directly to a clinic's or hospital's electronic health records system as part of a patient's comprehensive personal health record.

With rapid access to patient information through the secure Merlin.net PCN Web site, physicians can remotely monitor and assess patient device data to determine their required level of care. Alert notification delivery times can be customized to fit clinic hours, including potential after-hours notifications based on the clinics' preferences.

Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., St. Jude Medical employs approximately 14,000 people worldwide and has four major focus areas that include: cardiac rhythm management, atrial fibrillation, cardiovascular and neuromodulation.