Open-access content [Tanya Weaver](/authors/tanya-weaver) — Fri 14 Mar 2025
**An Australian man in his mid-40s with severe heart failure has survived 105 days with an artificial heart made of titanium.**
The implant, known as the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart, was fitted in November 2024 following a six-hour procedure at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney.
The titanium device was invented by biomedical engineer Dr Daniel Timms, founder and chief technical officer of US-based BiVACOR.
It has so far been successfully implanted into five patients in the US, the first taking place on 9 July 2024 at the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St Luke’s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center.
The device is used as a stopgap for people with heart failure who are waiting for a donor heart.
The Australian man is the sixth person to be fitted with the device, and the first outside of the US.
Unlike the other five who remained in hospital for the duration of the implant, he was discharged and led a relatively normal life.
Over three months later, on 6 March 2025, he underwent surgery to have it removed and receive a donated human heart.
The procedure was carried out under the Artificial Heart Frontiers Program, which is led by Monash University in Melbourne and consists of a consortium of engineers, clinicians, researchers and industry partners.
“This is certainly an important development in the field,” said Julian Smith, a cardiac surgeon at the Victorian Heart Institute at Monash University.
According to _Nature_, the device is a total heart replacement and works as a continuous pump in which a magnetically suspended rotor propels blood in regular pulses throughout the body.
A cord tunnelled under the skin connects the device to an external, portable controller that runs on batteries by day and can be plugged into the mains at night.
Unlike other mechanical heart devices, BiVACOR only has one moving part, which should in theory prevent fewer problems with mechanical wear.
Following the operation on the Australian patient, Dr Timms said he was proud to see the technology progress in Australia.
Dr Timms said: “Being able to bring Australia along this journey and be part of the first clinical trials is immensely important to me and something that I set out to do from the very beginning.
“The unique design and features of the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart translate into an unmatched safety profile, and it’s exhilarating to see decades of work come to fruition.”
St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney cardiologist Professor Chris Hayward said: “The BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart ushers in a whole new ball game for heart transplants, both in Australia and internationally.
“Within the next decade we will see the artificial heart becoming the alternative for patients who are unable to wait for a donor heart or when a donor heart is simply not available.”
The long-term ambition is for implant recipients to be able to live with their device without needing a heart transplant.
It could be a permanent option for those not eligible for transplants because of their age or other health conditions.
Getting to this point requires further human trials. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration has approved expanding the trial to another 15 individuals.
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Paragraphs Gated content: restricted Add "paragraphs" to build your page. Types of paragraph include headings, a WYSIWYG (rich text) field, images, galleries, and so on. Section Specify a custom text colour? No Text colour #000000 Specify a custom background colour? No Background colour #ffffff Background image position center Background size cover Tile background image? No Padding 0 Remote video (e.g. Youtube, Vimeo) WYSIWYG (rich text) Sikorsky has successfully flown its drone prototype that lifts off vertically like a helicopter but cruises like an airplane.
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