It is made of the same material as found in the world's highest-end smartphones and is based on the same technology as Japan's highest-end trains, but BiVACOR's Total Artificial Heart (or TAH) is intended to entirely replace the affected organ in cases of human bi- or uni-ventricular heart failure, as the name suggests.
TAHs and their implantation is indeed an emerging candidate treatment for the condition, which impacts the lives of an estimated 64 million humans worldwide. Many of them are, like those of the BiVACOR group, are in the clinical trial stage.
Some TAHs are built around multiple moving parts such as polymer diaphragms or synthetic valves which, while capable of replacing the ventricular action of the human heart, are potentially subject to failure, or so BiVACOR asserts. Accordingly, its TAH depends on an electromechanical system with just 1 rotor to pump the blood.
It is suspended in place using MAGLEV technology, thereby potentially avoiding friction and other types of mechanical failure. BiVACOR's TAH is backed to pump 12 liters (l) of blood around the body per minute, or enough to sustain exercise in an adult male human, yet to be small enough to fit in a patient with an available body surface area of 1.4 meters squared (m2) or more.
The medical-grade titanium TAH has now been successfully placed in its first patient as part of its Early Feasibility Study at the Texas Heart Institute, with plans for further trial surgeries in the near future. Then again, the TAH is currently intended as an interim solution prior to a full heart transplant rather than a permanent implant at this stage in its development.
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