A human has successfully received a titanium heart . The Texas Heart Institute (THI) and BiVACOR, a clinical-stage medical device company, announced Thursday (25 July) the first-in-human implantation of the BiVACOR Total Artificial Heart (TAH). The titanium heart uses magnetic levitation - or maglev - technology with the same principle used in high-speed trains.
It offers a so-called bridge-to-heart-transplant solution for patients living with severe conditions for when a donor heart becomes available . Two-thirds of voters think Harris lied about Biden's health, new poll shows Health warning issued as Arizona sees rise in cases of deadly rodent-borne virus On 9 July, the Texas Heart Institute implanted the TAH heart into a critically ill 57-year-old man who was in cardiogenic shock and awaiting a heart transplant. The procedure was carried out as part of a U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Early Feasibility Study (EFS). The nearly six-hour operation allowed the patient to be liberated from the vent on post-operative day three, and sit in a chair that same day.
On post-op day seven, he could ambulate 150 metres. On 17 July, eight days after the implant, a donor heart became available. A BiVACOR spokesperson said: "It was transplanted into the patient, removing the BiVACOR TAH and meeting the EFS's goal of evaluating the safety and performance of the BiVACOR TAH as a bridge-to-heart-transplant solution for patients living with severe biventricular heart failure or univen.