The man who lives 100 days with Titan’s artificial heart

The patient is 40 years old, has a heart failure and needs transplant surgery. In the meantime, he agreed to pair an artificial titanium heart at St. Vincent, Sydney. The surgery took place in November last year.

In February this year, he became the first in the world to discharged with equipment. Male patients have lived 100 days with artificial hearts – the longest period of time so far for users of this medical technology.

In early March, he was transplanted from a donated brain death. According to the announcement of March 12 of St. Hospital Vincent, University of Monash and Bivacor (American Company – Australia), a man “is recovering well”.

The whole bivacor (TAH) artificial heart has only one movement, a flying rotor is kept fixed by magnets. As the name implies, it is made from titanium and no valve or mechanical bearing is prone to worn. The heart pumps blood to the body and lungs, replacing both the ventricle of a weak heart.

The ability to maintain the life of the device for a long time is considered a sign that artificial heart may be a long -term choice for people with heart failure. The device is still in the testing phase and has not been approved for widely used.

The founder of Bivacor, biological engineer Daniel Timms, invented the device after his father died of heart disease. He said he was “excited to witness the results of many decades of work”.

“The entire Bivacor group is extremely grateful to the patient and his family for believing in our total artificial heart. Their courage will pave the way for countless other patients to access this lifestyle technology,” he said in the notice.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the globe, killing about 18 million people each year.

The long -term goal is to use this device to save the lives of people waiting for appropriate organs. Professor Chris Hayward, Cardiovascular Research Victor Chang, said Bivacor’s Tim had opened a “a whole new direction for heart transplantation”. He said that in the next decade, artificial hearts can become an alternative to patients who cannot wait for the donated organs, without compatible organs.

However, experts also note that the operating time of artificial heart is more than 100 days, shorter than the life of a donated heart, which can last 10-20 years. Therefore, there is still a long way before the artificial heart can completely replace the heart transplant.