MERLIN

Hi folks, as many of my friends here know, I have a dual pacemaker. It is an "Accent" and is monitored by a remote system.

I received a schedule from my cardiologist office stating that I was to do check-ins on certain days over the next year. Ok, I thought... there are no directions as to what I was supposed to do. I phone the dr. office and they said that I simply sit in front of the monitor and push the button and wait. So today... which is Labor Day, that is exactly what I did. I felt like some sort of nut. Sitting there in front of the MERLIN with the lights flashing and then it stopped.

Here is my question: Does anyone have a MERLIN and just how is it supposed to work? Did I do it right or should I call the Dr. office tomorrow and ask some more questions?

Happy pacing,
Pacergirl

6 Comments

What I found online

by heartu - 2010-09-07 02:09:42

PG: I found the following online. It seems you don't need to do anything but sit in front of the device to transmit. It is wireless and knows exactly what to do. So as long as you see those lights ans wit until they stop then it seems you've done well. Don't you love technology!

http://medgadget.com/archives/2008/07/st_jude_introduces_merlinhome_transmitter_for_monitoring_of_implanted_cardiac_devices.html


The Merlin@home transmitter's wireless technology gives patients the additional comfort of having devices automatically checked. Since the transmitter initiates the scheduled follow-up and uses RF wireless telemetry to download data from the device, the entire follow-up procedure is conducted without any direct patient involvement. The only requirement is that each patient remains within range of the transmitter while it reads his or her device. Patients also may initiate data transmissions as instructed by their physicians.

The Merlin@home transmitter is transportable and can be set-up wherever a standard phone line is available, typically by the bedside for data transmission while the patient sleeps. Data downloaded by the Merlin@home transmitter is sent to Merlin.net PCN, a secure, Internet-based data management system, where it is stored for review by the patient's physician.

"We have simplified remote follow-ups to the extent that they are now something that can be performed seamlessly without interrupting the patient's day. Patients simply set-up the Merlin@home transmitter; after that, the system handles all aspects of patient follow up, including daily monitoring," said Eric S. Fain, M.D., president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division. "The simplicity of the system reduces the chance of patients missing follow-up transmissions."

The Merlin@home transmitter also monitors cardiac devices outside of regularly scheduled follow-ups. The system can perform daily checks to monitor for alerts about device performance or about patient heart rhythms that may have been detected by the implanted device. Merlin.net PCN can be programmed to alert a physician directly - including an on-call physician outside normal business hours - in the event that the monitored data reveals an episode the physician needs to know about as soon as possible.

:-)

by pacergirl - 2010-09-07 10:09:04

Thank you Teresa and heartu, first I'd like to say thank you both.
The MERLIN system is a wonderful system, it does limit my office visits to once a year to see the cardiologist. I really like that part of it. The information provided from heartu really helps explain all this to me. I have read it before but I never remember everything the first time around so re-reading it helps me a lot. I haven't had any calls from the dr. so I can only believe that I did the "test" correctly.

If the MERLIN system is uploading my pacemaker info nightly why do they need me to sit in front of the computer 4 x a year? However it is only every 4 months for a few min. so what does it matter at this stage?

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful week!
Thank you,
PG

Never heard of Merlin

by TSan1961 - 2010-09-07 12:09:26

Hi Pacergirl!
I've never heard of the Merlin, but it sounds interesting. I'd advise you to call the doctor's office to see if they got the transmission (which you probably already did). I'm interested to hear more about that thing and if it worked. I'd much rather do remote checks than office checks myself.
Teresa

You did it right

by tcrabtree85 - 2010-09-09 02:09:46

If the light didn't stay on the area to tell you to call Dr office you are fine. I love my Merlin also.

i have merlin

by rick - 2011-09-03 01:09:59

i used merlin for a yr and the defib doctor never called me back or told me everything was ok so i talked to my cardiologist and he said he could do this as long as everything was ok. when they set me up it worked like it should. find the tech support #, i'm sure they have one

merlin

by hkappen - 2013-09-13 12:09:23

I was told they do the check while I'm sleeping. I don't know if the lights flash or not. Anybody having spasms ?

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Member Quotes

So, my advice is to go about your daily routine and forget that you have a pacemaker implanted in your body.