I remember reading about this years ago. It’s so cool seeing it being used successfully in a patient! Technology like this makes me feel better about the future.
Now this is fucking cool! Sure it will probably take some time to become affordable, but that it’s possible at all is awesome.
Apparently you can live with a BiVACOR TAH for around 10 years without replacement due to the Maglev system inside it.
Gosh it feels like cyberpunk 2077 is just a few years away, we just need more corporate built cities.
oh yay, a techno dystopia, just wait for the repo men after you miss your heart payment
This is Australia, so the patient would be out of pocket about $2.50 for parking at the hospital.
America is on track I’d say, Musk n Zuck are so horny to do that…
How does this handle activities that require increased blood flow? Does it have a little rheostat you crank to 11 when it’s time to go for a jog or something?
That sounds strampunk af, I’d get it even if I didn’t need one if it did that!
The Australian researchers and doctors behind the operation announced on Wednesday that the implant had been an “unmitigated clinical success” after the man lived with the device for more than 100 days before receiving a donor heart transplant in early March.
Just in case anyone else also found the title ambiguous regarding whether “100 days” meant he died 😅
Thank you.
First of all: congratulations. Seriously. This is awesome! Secondly: you designed the most Steampunk looking heart you could. Bravo, truly a capital marvel of fine craftsmanship.
Yes, I opened the article just to find an answer to the question: Does it really look this fucking cool? Answer: yes, yes it does.
Not to belittle this accomplishment, but how is this a “World’s First” success?
Because I read the article I actually know the answer! It’s the first time this technology has been used in a human, and it’s been a huge success so far. Quote from the article
The BiVACOR total artificial heart, invented by Queensland-born Dr Daniel Timms, is the world’s first implantable rotary blood pump that can act as a complete replacement for a human heart, using magnetic levitation technology to replicate the natural blood flow of a healthy heart.
It would be nice if the article said if the artificial heart includes functions such as pumping harder in response to exercise and such, because it isn’t entirely clear if it does
Maybe it’s implied, but I feel it should be explicitly mentioned
I actually asked this very question in another post and got a technician who worked on this to answer: https://feddit.org/comment/5284139
Ooh, nice, thanks!
Noice!
Other prosthetic/mechanical changes to hearts don’t do that, so I would guess this one doesn’t either. It would require interfacing with the brain and decoding stimulus, which would be much more complex.
Usually the recipents just keep activity low or pass out when they need the energy/heat dissipation and can’t get it.
Yes exactly, so when they call it a “total heart replacement” I’d like to have clarification on it, so that I know how excited I should get
It’s frustrating when articles on new innovations don’t go into details about them at all except just “it exists” pretty much
Likely the length of time is what’s first.
Edit: nope several people have had them for over 100 days
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it was first invented by Tigger, too!
Now time to make it look like some DeusEx heart
I wonder if his mates will forever call him “Tin Man”.
I am titaneeeuum!
That thing looks so steampunk, I’m kinda jealous.
That’s fuckin’ nuts.
Also, this headline is bad. I thought he died. No. He just got a transplant after 100 days (whew).
it would be so fucking cool if he still had it but it really is uncharted territory
I wonder if there’ll ever be artificial heart that would last for decades, I imagine that would save lots of people.
I imagine that would save lots of people.
Lots and lots and lots. All the issues with scarcity of donor hearts and tissue compatibility would just go away, and the main constraint on heart transplants would become the availability of a cardiac surgeon. Far fewer people would die while they were on a waiting list, and there would be much less incentive to drop anyone healthy enough to survive the surgery off the list entirely.
Rare humanity win.