Medtronic, a Minnesota-based US-listed medical technology company is playing a major role in a MedTech project taking place in Manchester.

Supported by Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the UK’s Medical Research Council and funded by the UK Research and Innovation’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the research is a collaboration between Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), The University of Manchester, and global heart technology company Medtronic.

With the largest clinical academic campus in Europe, Manchester is home to world-leading research and its digital health community is well-connected, with strong links between academia, health organisations and tech innovators. The study with Medtronic is the first of its kind, and one of a series of specialist healthcare collaborations underway in the city.

As part of this work, the SmartHearts evaluation, a project piloted by Health Innovation Manchester and the clinical team at Manchester Heart Centre together with Medtronic, collected data from over 400 patients with Medtronic cardiac devices showing patients at increased risk of adverse events, including hospitalisation and death.

Using remotely monitored health-data from the cardiac device (known as TriageHF), the study, published in Europace, reported a three-fold increase in the likelihood of mortality for patients who spent at least one day in high-risk status. Increased time spent in a high-risk status is associated with higher risk of mortality.

Tim Newns, Chief Executive of MIDAS, said: “Manchester is an internationally recognised hub for health innovation and also one of the leading digital centres in Europe, thus creating excellent convergence opportunities in digital health that companies such as Medtronic can leverage.”

Dr Fozia Ahmed, Honorary Reader in Cardiovascular Sciences from The University of Manchester and Consultant Cardiologist at The Manchester Heart Centre at Manchester Royal Infirmary, part of  MFT, said: “Remote monitoring capabilities of modern-day cardiac devices enables continuous monitoring of health-related data in the patients’ own homes. The data can help identify when there is a potentially significant shift in a patient’s clinical condition, helping to predict future adverse clinical events, such as hospitalisation and death.

“We believe this technology could be a game-changer in the management of cardiac patients, particularly those with heart failure. In Greater Manchester, based on the data from the research, we have been using device alerts, which notify the care team when a patient is detected by the device as ‘high-risk’, to prompt a telephone consultation with a specialist.

“The whole process from detection of a high-risk episode, through to assessment and follow-up is known as the TriageHF Plus care pathway – originally developed in Manchester, it is now being used more widely.”