Medtronic, the medical device giant, is setting up a new software team in Ireland focusing on its implantable cardiac devices, its first in Europe.The group’s patient care systems (PCS) team will initially employ 85 people at its Parkmore cardiac centre of excellence site in Galway, the company announced on Wednesday, with the number expected to grow over the next three years.The team focuses on software used to programme pacemakers in addition to implantable defibrillators and other devices as they are initially inserted into the patient during surgery. The devices provide ongoing data for both patients and medical staff. Alex Mann, group vice-president for PCS, said Medtronic currently has more than three million “connected” patients, a number that will only grow.“The patient population is growing at a rate much higher than the caregiver population,” he said, “so you have to have these systems in place to scale care.”Between now and 2035, the cardiac patient population will grow 56 per cent faster than clinician and doctor population, says Mann, citing American Heart Association data, “so the technology is having to get smarter and more scalable so doctors and nurses and caregivers can all provide more effective care despite this disproportionate growth.”“This software never sleeps and you are monitoring this data 24/7 as you are responsible for lives,” he says. “These software ecosystems are essential. You can no longer offer these medical devices without these capabilities.”“PCS in Galway represents far more than an expansion of our footprint,” said Mann. “Our vision is to build an enduring software capability that advances cardiac care, accelerates innovation and delivers solutions that empower clinicians and improves patient outcomes worldwide.” [ Offering hope for more effective stroke management and better quality of life for survivorsOpens in new window ]It is the first European software hub put in place by Medtronic, which already has similar teams in the US and India, employing around 1,000 people altogether.Galway, he says, has the advantage that it allows Medtronic to “follow the sun” as its team in India can hand over to Ireland which, in turn, hands on to North America. He said the company’s decision to select Ireland for the investment reflected Medtronic’s “confidence in the exceptional talent, strong engineering heritage and collaborative ecosystem across the west of Ireland”.Mann, who’s background is in consumer tech and who previously managed similar roll-outs for Garmin and Smart Home, said he sees his group as “kind of like the tip of the spear”. He expects that as the cardiac PCS group builds out its presence in Galway, “you will see more of Medtronics’ other business units quickly follow along”.“I think over time we will steadily balance the organisation and you will end up having a one third split between Asia, Europe and America,” he said.Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who attended the formal announcement in Galway, said the €11 billion invested by Medtronic in Ireland over its 40 years here, including €1.2 billion in research and development, was a strong endorsement of the region’s talent base and infrastructure. “Ireland’s position as a global leader in medtech and digital health is built on sustained investment in innovation and people,” he noted.Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke said the new software hub with its 85 jobs and prospects for future growth represented “more than just high-quality employment: they are a beacon for world-class tech talent in the west”.IDA Ireland executive director Mary Buckley said: “This announcement marks a significant evolution of Medtronic’s long-standing presence in the west ... Medtronic is placing Ireland at the heart of advanced cardiac software development.”The Galway jobs will focus on software engineering and systems reliability. Medtronic said it was holding a networking event on Thursday, May 28th, in Galway’s PorterShed to give people a chance to learn more about its PCS operation.