France just had its first artificial heart surgery on medical history. Powered by watch-style batteries, the heart can give up to five years for the patient.
The artificial heart was given to a patient confined at the Paris’s Georges Pompidou Hospital. The heart is utilizing biomaterials to function, which includes a bovine tissue. The tissue is also used to reduce the possibility of the patient’s body to reject the artificial heart.
The heart, designed by the FrechCarmat biomedical firm, can last up to five years unlike the earlier models which have a shorter life span.
The medics who performed the heart transfer procedure reported that that the male patient was awake and responding very well while the procedure is being performed. Chief executive of Carmat, Marcello Conviti, told The Telegraph: “We are delighted with this first implant, although it is premature to draw conclusions given that a single implant has been performed and that we are in the early post-operative phase.”
Developed by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, the artificial heart weighs 2 lbs and mimics the heart muscle contractions to effectively facilitate the flow of the blood. This new design can help thousands of patients suffering from heart-related diseases and waiting for a heart donor. In Europe and U.S alone, 100,000 people are waiting for their heart donor.
The surgeon, who did the transplant, Alain Carpentier, said, “It’s about giving patients a normal social life with the least dependence on medication as possible.
“We’ve already seen devices of this type but they had a relatively low autonomy. This heart will allow for more movement and less clotting. The study that is starting is being very closely watched in the medical field.”
Heart failure affects more men than women, and the size of the artificial heart means it can fit in 86 per cent of men’s bodies but only about 20 per cent of women. However, Carmat says it can manufacture a smaller version to fit the more petite bodies of women as well as patients in India and China.
