Medtronic (medtronic.com) is equipping employees with iPads to present and explain its medical technologies to health care professionals, individual patients, and patient advocacy groups.

The Minneapolis-based maker of medical equipment and therapies for cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal disorders, chronic health conditions, and surgical procedures, has created more than a dozen in-house iPad apps to access proprietary information, improve efficiency, and enhance customer engagement. The apps are distributed through the Medtronic App Store, a password-protected website that lets the company control access to qualified staff and easily provide app updates.

Internal apps include mStar, a field productivity tool for sales reps that integrates with back-end systems for product ordering and registration. Another in-house app is mCMS, a content management application that helps sales staff and managers organize, present, and distribute product information by audience or topic. The app works within FDA regulations to make sure Medtronic employees retain control of sensitive data and share it appropriately.