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World’s 1st Self-Regulating Artificial Heart Transplanted
French doctors have installed a revolutionary artificial heart into a 75-year old patient, giving more scope for long-lasting robotic substitutes.
The heart took 25 years in making and is created by French company Carmat. The effort is not less than a technological marvel as it is completely artificial, self-regulating and mimics the human heart to the maximum extent.
The artificial heart weighs about 900 grams which is three times the weight of the normal human heart. A lithium battery powers the heart and is made from soft “biomaterials”. It functions with the aid of a slew of sensors that are designed to mimc every detail of real beating heart, reported RT.com.
The size of the current trial model is suitable for 75 percent of men and 25 percent of women, however a more compact solution is around the corner.
The device costs about $200,000 which is equivalent to the expense of a real heart transplantation.
The good news is that the transplant recipient so far is “progressing and recuperating.”
“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,” said Dr. Christian Latermouille, according to RT.com. He is one of the 16 doctors taking part in the surgery at Paris’s George Pompidou hospital.
The new device promises to provide several other advantages over the conventional one, like it will lessen the risk of blood clots and will also minimize the chances of rejection.
For the first time, the device is providing patients a viable alternative to the real heart.
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