St Jude RF with Merlin@home? Requires landline tel

I am active on the forum today -- PM is going in tomorrow :)

I am getting a St Jude Anthem RF with a Merlin@home home station. The home station reads data from the PM nightly (or another time you are near the station), and using an old-fashioned telephone landline and modem, dials in the data the the merlin network, where it will be analyzed for any irregularities.

I was very excited to receive such new and advanced technology, but rather disappointed about the telephone landline requirement. After the data gets to their server, it's on the Internet anyway. Why didn't they include Wi-Fi capability or an ethernet jack? Then no landline or telephone numbers to dial would be needed.

Like many others, I don't have a telephone landline, and I will try my best to avoid it going forward as well. I will try various VoIP solutions, if those don't work, perhaps bringing the station to work. I really hope St Jude catches up with all aspects of technology and releases a modernized version eventually.

Has anyone else used Merlin@home with a telephone landline (or other method), and what is your experience?

Karl

10 Comments

Love My Merlin

by brucerob - 2010-01-10 08:01:05

Yes I have Merlin on a land line. I have an ICD and received a shock in November, the clinic had all the info about the incident and the cause the next morning. I find it very comforting to have it watching over me and will take it with me when I travel. The only downside is the bright green LED on the front, too bright. Also, it saves me one hundred miles driving when an interrogation is due.

As far as the requirement of a land line goes, I will always have one for a 911 call. Last year I had a 4:30 AM trip to the ER. There is no cell phone coverage where I live and the electric does go off, when it does there is no internet (usually the phone stays on).

It is my understanding that St. Jude has new things on the way, so you may be in luck down the road.

Good Luck, Bruce

Thanks

by realkarl - 2010-01-10 08:01:44

Thanks for your reply. I didn't even check until now, but I see that the price for a basic land line has gone down since I had it years ago, so it might well be worth it just for this purpose. I guess with the competition from other services, they have had to lower their prices :)

My concern

by ElectricFrank - 2010-01-10 11:01:10

My only concern with the automatic nighttime monitor is that a technical glitch could trigger an emergency response. I don't want the EMT's crashing through my front door in the wee hours of the morning.

This is one of the questions I intend to ask this week before getting a replacement. I don't care whether the monitoring is the older magnetic head or the newer wireless, I want to control when it sends data.

frank

transmit on demand

by realkarl - 2010-01-11 12:01:56

There is an option to send on demand, i.e. have it disconnected, plug it in, and press send when you want to, but the intended use is auto-dial at night.

Remote send-in

by realkarl - 2010-02-08 06:02:02

" the remote send-in is not for everybody, unless you have a hard time getting to the docs for the check-up."

I am not sure about that. I don't have a complex condition and this is what they setup for me.

In steady-state operation, it reads my PM daily, and calls in weekly to upload data. If nothing is wrong, there is no feedback, but if it should detect an anomaly, my doctor will be contacted, and if urgent, a light go on (I think).

My clinic decides when to get a full download, I think they have set it bi-monthly for me. Then I don't have to come in more than once/year after the 1st year.

I ended up getting a $20/month Comcast voice line. I like the extra safety of potential early detection of any potential problem.

Not for everybody

by cbaker - 2010-02-08 06:02:11

Just posted about this on a different topic. The Merlin system is coming out with a cell adapter, supposedly. But the remote send-in is not for everybody, unless you have a hard time getting to the docs for the check-up. Or need close monitoring due to a complex condition. (for most people, 3-month checks more than enough.) Some people prefer to get checked in person.

ElectricFrank, you can always set it up with your doc to send a report in when you want (say once a week, or month, whatever). They work fine that way too.

Remote send-in

by cbaker - 2010-02-08 11:02:39

I do understand how the system works, and if you don't want to go in more than once a year, that's great. I'm one of those people who like the device check in person because I can get questions answered. The statistics on early detection of actually threatening problems are really low (like, really low -- leads and batteries usually give plenty of notice), so for me, the remote system isn't worth adding a landline. Remote systems have advantages and disadvantages, like everything.

remote unit

by mrpeabody - 2011-01-14 01:01:06

I just got my second PM today. Outpatient. I got the St Jude pm1210 and the device looks like it is one that can use the merlin@home. my dr didnt mention anything about the remote unit. Is this something that is an additional optional purchase, or is it now included with the pacemaker? Will they ship one to my house now that they know who they implanted this into? Or exactly how does it get to you? Thanks.

Merlin given to me by rep

by reds_threads - 2012-04-08 09:04:31

I received my PM Mar 10, 2012. At my wound check up, I had some questions the nurse could not answer. She brought in the St. Jude Rep to answer my questions and run a test so I could the beep. While talking he found out that we live almost an hour from the clinic. He offered me the Merlin. I like the idea. It sounds like I will still have visits with the NP at a closer location - thanks Steve! (St Jude Rep). I don't have a landline hook up in my bedroom, so am having one put in on Tuesday. I can wait to give it a whirl. I will have cover ready to shield the green light. I like a dark bedroom.

Merlin question

by Ziggy6 - 2012-07-18 11:07:00

I am going away for three days and leaving Merlin at home. Do I need to notify anybody at St Jude's that there will be no transmission on those days? Thanks.

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