A new talking pacemaker is helping doctors monitor heart patients without the need for lengthy hospital visits.

Medical engineering firm, Biotronik which is based in Bicester, has designed a pacemaker which automatically relays information to physicians from anywhere in Europe.

Twenty UK patients are testing the device, which has reduced the number of times they have to visit a consultant.

Normal pacemakers are small battery-operated electronic packs implanted into the heart to keep it beating regularly with electronic pulses.

About 22,000 people in Britain have them -- usually to speed up their heart after a heart attack -- and they normally have to have a hospital check-up every six months.

The Biotronik Home Monitoring system is fitted with a special microchip which sends information to a mobile phone-sized unit, worn by the patient during the day and left by their bed at night.

The unit generates a text message and transmits it over a mobile phone network to Biotronik's automated service centre in Germany, which in turn passes on a report to the patient's doctor.

Consultants can react quickly if there are any problems, and call the patient to hospital immediately for a more detailed examination.

The Home Monitoring system can also be used on patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator -- a device which monitors the heart rate, "jump starting" it with an electric shock.

Elwyn Rayson, Biotronik marketing manager, said the new system would not only prove beneficial to patients, but to hospital staff.

He said: "The NHS is under pressure from the Government to fit more and more pacemakers and it's a huge burden to them. Money is not the problem -- it's resources.

"The more pressure put on them to step up to the implant levels of their European colleagues, the more the problem is exacerbated.

"Home Monitoring means cardiologists can see that a patient due to come to hospital is doing fine, and can therefore delay their appointment."

Trials have been taking place at London's St Thomas Hospital for nine months, and the device is expected to be ready for general use next year.

Mr Elwyn said Biotronik was still considering how much Home Monitoring should cost.