A 58-year-old man in the United States has become the first person in the world to receive a heart transplant using a titanium heart, allowing him to live well while waiting for a donor heart.
The Total Artificial Heart (TAH) made of titanium was designed by BiVACOR, a medical device company based in the U.S., with the goal of replacing the full function of a human heart for as long as possible.
Titanium heart tested on BiVACOR’s laboratory bench – (Image: BiVACOR).
This heart is not designed to beat like a natural heart, nor does it have flexible chambers or membranes for pumping. However, it is strong enough to support a man exercising and small enough to fit most men and women.
According to BiVACOR, the titanium heart is about the size of a fist and is unbreakable, resistant to corrosion and mechanical wear. The only moving part of the heart is a rotor that is suspended magnetically and hidden deep inside, which pumps blood to the lungs and the rest of the body. Since the rotor spins without contacting any surfaces, it experiences no friction or wear over time.
The TAH is powered by a small, portable control device attached externally. BiVACOR spent 10 years on numerous designs and dozens of animal studies to create the TAH that was implanted in the chest of a patient with end-stage heart failure.
According to ScienceAlert on August 2, the 58-year-old patient underwent the titanium heart transplant at the Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, part of the Texas Heart Institute, and experienced no complications. The patient’s doctor reported that the titanium heart functioned very well for 8 days before the patient received a true donor heart from another individual.
“I am incredibly proud to witness the first successful TAH transplant in a human. This achievement would not have been possible without the courage of the first patient and his family, the dedication of our team, and the specialists at the Texas Heart Institute,” said Daniel Timms, founder of BiVACOR.
Total artificial heart made from titanium – (Image: BiVACOR).
Today, the best treatment option for severe heart failure patients is a donated heart transplant; however, this organ supply is not always available in time. There are fewer than 6,000 heart transplants performed globally each year.
Hence, artificial hearts are an essential method to prolong and improve the quality of life for patients eligible for heart transplants but at risk of early death before receiving a donor heart.
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Titanium heart “beats” for 4 years For the past 20 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved the SynCardia total artificial heart, which is large and not durable for long-term use in the body. The TAH is hailed as a “breakthrough” in the design of long-lasting artificial hearts. While it remains unclear how long the TAH can function in a human body, this design has operated continuously for 4 years in laboratory tests and is still ongoing. In November 2023, BiVACOR received FDA approval to perform heart transplants for up to 5 patients with end-stage heart failure in 2024. With the success of the first heart transplant, more patients will soon receive new hearts. |
