Australian company BiVACOR has revealed a patient implanted with its artificial heart survived for 100 days – and is still with us after receiving a donated organ.
The un-named man had heart disease that meant he needed a replacement ticker.
BiVACOR makes just such a replacement that it calls the “Total Artificial Heart” (TAH) and which it describes as “an electro-mechanical rotary blood pump” that has just one moving part – a magnetically levitated rotor that simultaneously pumps blood to both the body and the lungs.”
Previous artificial heart designs several more moving parts that can wear out. Using magnetic levitation for the rotor – which is essentially a specialized impeller – means it doesn’t touch other components so won’t degrade.
You can see an animated 3D model of the TAH here. And here’s a pic of the TAH in the hands of a surgeon.
BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart surgery. Credit: BiVACOR
BiVACOR’s Total Artificial Heart. Credit: BiVACOR - Click to enlarge
An external controller and batteries provide power to the artificial hearts through a “percutaneous driveline” – a wire that passes through patient’s skin.
BiVACOR suggests the TAH as a stop-gap measure while patients wait for a donor heart to become available. The company last year announced that five patients had trialled the device in the USA, and all were discharged from hospital afterwards. One apparently spent 27 days with an artificial heart. Another was back on the table after eight days.
The anonymous Australian man spent six hours on the operating table while his TAH was implanted, and was later discharged and lived with the artificial heart for over 100 days before receiving a transplant.
Heart disease is a killer, but few who need a transplant get one. BiVACOR aspires to improve its product to the point at which it can last almost ten years – the typical working life of donated heart.
Don’t ignore diet or exercise after reading this story, because the TAH is still in clinical trials. The Australian man was the first to receive the implant outside the US, where approval has been granted for just 15 more human trials. It could therefore be years if this device is approved for regular use by those hoping for a transplant, never mind becomes a long term alternative to a natural heart. ®