iPad System Programs Implanted Pacemaker Devices

A tablet-based management system provides portable and secure wireless programming of implanted cardiac devices (ICDs).

The Medtronic (Dublin, Ireland) CareLink SmartSync device manager is a next-generation programmer and pacing system analyzer that features a simplified user interface, enhanced security, and Bluetooth capabilities to communicate with compatible Medtronic BlueSync devices. The portable, wireless system allows physicians more freedom to engage with patients as they program and manage cardiac devices and device data. The SmartSync system includes the CareLink SmartSync mobile application, a patient connector (telemetry head), and a base station (pacing system analyzer).


SmartSync also includes the MyCareLink Heart mobile app, which allows patients to communicate with compatible BlueSync-enabled cardiac devices. In terms of security, the SmartSync device manager, similar to all of Medtronic’s BlueSync-enabled heart devices, comes with multi-encryption protocols, run-time application monitoring for intrusion detection security controls, and access restrictions to the device and data. BlueSync enabled Medtronic pacemakers include the Azure and Percepta pacemakers, and the Serena and Solara quadripolar cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers (CRT-Ps).

“Medtronic is committed to developing smart technology solutions that help physicians seamlessly provide high-quality care to cardiac patients,” said Rob Kowal, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of the Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure division at Medtronic. “SmartSync is another important innovation reinforcing that commitment. Clinicians will benefit from the portability that SmartSync offers, and because it was built to replicate the familiar CareLink 2090 interface, the transition to this new technology is quite simple.”

“The wireless capabilities and data transfer options of the SmartSync Device Manager have increased my efficiency in the lab and allow me to interact with my patients and peers more directly without sacrificing performance,” said consultant cardiologist Klaus Witte, MD, FRCP, lead clinician for cardiology at the University of Leeds (United Kingdom) and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (United Kingdom). “This type of portable device programing represents the future of cardiac data technology.”