Telemedicine framework for manufacturer independent remote pacemaker follow-up

Due to international standards each implantable cardiac pacemaker reacts to the application of a permanent magnet by changing the pacing rate in a predefined way depending on the depletion level of its battery. The purpose of this study has been to use a routine ECG recording to verify in a telemedicine framework whether the pacemaker works correctly or if further examination is indicated. The system has been implemented prototypically and has been evaluated in a clinical pilot trial on 24 consecutive patients with a total of 17 different pacemaker models from 6 different manufacturers. The promising results indicate that the presented follow-up concept, which can be handled by general practitioners, has the potential to work as an efficient screening method and may spare a significant number of patients the burden of having to travel to specialized hospitals which are often far away from patients´ homes