08-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Local medtech company pumps up expansion plans with new name and new jobs
Heart Rhythm Ireland, which will rebrand as Heart Rhythm International (HRI), plans to grow its presence in the UK healthcare market by partnering with more than 30 hospitals and adding approximately 50,000 patients to its network by 2029. The company also has its sights set on expansion in the the US, Australia and New Zealand. The company also plans to grow its team to 30 staff members in the coming years.
Founded over 15 years ago, HRI operates a cloud-based cardiac rhythm management platform that supports and provides real-time access to cardiac device data for patients, clinicians, hospitals, and device manufacturers, delivering accurate, accessible and actionable data to patients and their medical teams. This improves patient outcomes by making device data more accessible, enabling timely clinical decisions and more coordinated care.
HRI's system also provides patients with secure access to their information anytime and anywhere, making it easier to share critical data with healthcare providers in emergencies. The company is also developing artificial intelligence and predictive analytics features to enable more personalised and earlier interventions in cardiac care.
The platform currently supports over 65,000 patients and is deployed in more than 50 cardiac hospitals across Ireland. The company also provides national coverage, working with leading institutions such as the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Bon Secours Health System, Beaumont Hospital, Mater Private Network, University Hospital Galway, Blackrock Health, and Cork University Hospital. It already manages Ireland's national electronic health record for cardiac devices, maintaining a registry of over 100,000 implant procedures and nearly one million clinical follow-up records.
'Every 20 seconds someone receives a cardiac implant, but the systems supporting their care haven't kept pace,' said Robert Kelly, CEO of HRI. 'HRI was set up to change that, by operating at the centre of a unique ecosystem, supporting patients, hospitals and clinicians and cardiac device manufacturers. Through our system, patients receive greater peace of mind and better health outcomes, while medical personnel can make better informed and more efficient decisions. Ultimately that improves patient care and helps save lives.'
In addition to commercial growth, HRI is actively contributing to international research and innovation projects. These include Project CARAMEL, a €12 million initiative funded under the EU Horizon Europe programme, helping to develop AI-powered predictive models for cardiovascular risk in women aged 40 to 60. The company is also an industry partner in the new Health Frontiers Technology Innovation Centre (HF-TIC), led by Ulster University and supported by €9.1 million in PEACEPLUS funding. Both initiatives reinforce HRI's leadership in AI-driven digital health innovation on an international scale.
'We've already demonstrated how we can enhance cardiac care in Ireland by supporting over 65,000 patients and working with more than 50 hospitals nationwide. Now, we're bringing that capability overseas. A key strength of our system is that it was built on scalable, cloud-based infrastructure in partnership with IBM, allowing it to be rapidly deployed by healthcare providers anywhere in the world,' said Kelly.
'We're managing our expansion step by step, focusing initially on the UK market. However we are already discussing partnerships and opportunities with healthcare providers in the US and Australia/ New Zealand. We believe there is real opportunity for HRI to grow, to support more patients and doctors overseas, while helping advance cardiac care internationally in the years ahead,' Mr. Kelly concluded.
