World's first artificial heart transplant performed in France

Vikrant

Gold Member
Apr 20, 2013
8,317
1,073
245
The U.S.
ONDON: For the first time, an artificial heart that may give patients up to five years of extra life has been successfully implanted in a 75-year-old French man.

The artificial heart, designed by French biomedical firm Carmat, is powered by Lithium-ion batteries that can be worn externally.

The heart that was put into the patient at Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris uses a range of "bio-materials", including bovine tissue, to reduce the likelihood of the body rejecting it, 'The Telegraph' reported.

This device is intended to replace a real heart for as many as five years, unlike previous artificial hearts that were created mainly for temporary use.

Doctors said the patient who received the device developed by Dutch-based European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) was awake and responding well after the operation.

"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," Marcello Conviti, the chief executive of Carmat, said.

The heart weighs as little as less than a kilogramme ? almost three times as much as an average healthy human heart.

The device mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patient's moves, the report said.

The heart surfaces that come into contact with human blood are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic, which can cause blood clots.

World's first artificial heart transplant performed in France - The Times of India
 
Artificial heart goes into 75 year old man...
:cool:
Patient ‘progressing’ after new artificial heart implant
Mon, Dec 23, 2013 - A 75-year-old man who last week became the first person to receive an artificial heart developed by French biomedical firm Carmat was progressing well, doctors said on Saturday.
The patient was “progressing and recuperating,” said surgeon Christian Latremouille, who was among the 16-strong team of doctors who performed the operation at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris on Wednesday last week. Artificial hearts have already been in use for many years as a temporary fix for patients with chronic heart problems.

The Carmat product aims at providing a longer-term solution to bridge the wait for a donor heart and enable hospitalized patients to return home and maybe even resume work. “He was nearing the end of his life,” Latremouille told a press conference, adding that the surgery had gone according to plan. “The intervention took place in good conditions. There were no complications linked to the innovative nature of the implant operation,” he said. “He is not walking yet, but we will try to get him sitting and then standing soon enough. The objective is for him to have a normal life,” the surgeon said.

The artificial heart, a self-contained unit implanted in the patient’s chest, uses soft “biomaterials” and an array of sensors to mimic the contractions of the heart. The goal is to lessen the risk of blood clots and rejection by the immune system. The patient will have to wear a belt of lithium batteries to power the heart. Nearly 100,000 people in Europe and the US are in need of a heart transplant, according to Carmat.

A US rival to Carmat, an artificial heart called AbioCor, is authorized in the US for patients with end-stage heart failure or life expectancy of less than 30 days, who are not eligible for a natural heart transplant and have no other viable treatment options.

Patient ?progressing? after new artificial heart implant - Taipei Times
 

Forum List

Back
Top