Orange and Sorin partner on cardiac care

France Telecom firm Orange has partnered with medical device company Sorin Group to develop remote monitoring for patients with implanted cardiac rhythm management (CRM) devices.

The planned new system is based on the ability of Sorin’s implanted CRM devices to send data to a non-invasive monitoring system located at the patient’s home. This will be integrated with Orange Business Services’ capabilities to manage the transmission of the data to the physician.

According to Sorin, the new system will allow the follow-up care of patients by transmitting data electronically from patients’ implanted cardiac devices to their doctors, using non-invasive monitoring and without the patient having to leave their homes.

The data gathered will enable doctors to detect arrhythmia or cardiac disease progress and provide timely therapy, which should help reduce the need for hospitalisation and improve the patients’ quality of life.

Patients who have had a CRM device implanted need regular check-ups with their doctors to ensure it is functioning properly and is providing the right therapy. As more patients have CRM devices implanted clinicians have to spend more time monitoring them.

The planned remote monitoring system will provide caregivers with access to comprehensive data recorded by the implanted device while the patient is at home.

Sorin says its CRM has been developed in close collaboration with expert cardiologists. The firm says the intelligent discrimination algorithms and data embedded into Sorin Group pacemakers, defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation devices provide caregivers with specific information of each device’s behaviour and the individual patient’s condition.

These diagnostic capabilities will enable transmission of valuable alert messages, providing clinicians with relevant information and offering patients more peace of mind.

“This agreement demonstrates Sorin Group’s commitment to continuously enhance the standards of care we deliver to patients and medical professionals,” said Stefano Di Lullo, President of the CRM Business Unit of Sorin Group.

Thierry Zylberberg, head of Orange Healthcare, said: “Sorin Group’s advanced medical technologies and innovative therapeutic solutions, combined with Orange’s expertise in application and program management for large, complex projects, will result in a solution that increases options to raise the quality of healthcare.”