If someone at a get-together asked Michael R.S. Hill what he does for a living, he’d cheerily reply, “Scientist.”

An accurate description, for sure. In truth, his business card reads: “Senior Director, New Therapies and Diagnostics Programs, Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management, Medtronic Inc.”

He could also be called an inventor — and a prolific one, at that.

Earlier this year, the 46-year-old Hill was feted at the Fridley-based medical technology company for receiving his 50th patent. He’s the seventh person in the company’s 61-year history to do so, and only the fourth in its core cardiac rhythm business, which makes pacemakers and heart defibrillators.

Put simply, Hill’s patent work has focused on improving implantable cardiac devices for patients with irregular heart rhythms and creating new solutions that combine cardiovascular and neuromodulation (zapping the brain or nervous system) technologies.