For all those heart patients who’ve lost hope, ones with
severe heart failure whose death is imminent, ‘artificial hearts’ come to your
rescue. How scary is it to imagine the death of a loved one, who suffers from a
heart condition? It could be your mother, brother, sister, father, spouse,
child, anyone! Here is an article to give you the information that you might
not be aware of.
What exactly is this?
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Firstly, don’t confuse it with a ventricular
assist device which is designed to support a failing heart.
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It is
also distinct from a cardiopulmonary bypass machine which is an external device used to provide the functions of
both the heart and lungs and are only used for a few hours at a time, most
commonly during cardiac
surgery. An artificial heart is a device that
replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the
time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case
heart transplantation is impossible.
Simple mathematics..
Problem: The demand for organs always greatly exceeds
the supply
Solution: We invent what the mankind has been waiting
for, a ray of hope, an artificial heart.
The AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart is the first completely self-contained artificial
heart and is expected to at least double the life expectancy of heart patients.
Artificial brings to life:
Patients with an implanted
AbioCor heart will still have atria that beat at the same time, but the
artificial heart, which replaces both ventricles, can only force blood out one
ventricle at a time. So, it will alternately
send blood to the lungs and then to the body, instead of both at the same time
as a natural heart does. The AbioCor is able to pump more than 10
liters per minute, which is enough for everyday
activities.
Components:
Components:
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Hydraulic pump
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Porting valve
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Wireless energy transfer system- consists of two
coils, one internal and one external, which transmit power via magnetic force
from an external battery across
the skin without piercing the surface. The internal coil receives the power and
sends it to the internal battery and controller device. This is the most
intriguing part of the device given that the device Is made of plastic and
titanium.
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Internal battery- A rechargeable battery is implanted
inside the patient's abdomen. This gives a patient 30 to 40 minutes to perform
certain activities, such as showering, while disconnected from the main battery
pack.
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External battery
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Controller
Historic attempts
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Pheonix-7
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Jarvik-7
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abioCor
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AbioCor-II
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Berlin Heart
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MagScrew
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SynCardia
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Frazier-Cohn
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CARMAT
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POLVAD
Until now AbioCor-II is the only successful artificial heart
that has been successful to increase life expectancy by a maximum of 5 years.
Not only will this mark a very important phase in the evolution of technology,
but also decrease the number of unnecessary deaths due to unavailability of
organ to transplant. Let’s just hope we are able to develop
artificial hearts that increase life expectancy by way more than 5 years.
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