- US man becomes first to survive with BiVACOR's metal heart for 8 days before receiving donor transplant.
- BiVACOR's Total Artificial Heart uses magnetic levitation technology, providing up to 12 liters of blood flow per minute.
- FDA approved BiVACOR to implant its artificial heart in up to five patients with end-stage heart failure in 2024.
The healthcare system has recently witnessed a massive breakthrough; a 58-year-old man in the US has become the first person to survive several days with a metal heart, following the end-stage failure of his own organ.
The medical technology company BiVACOR designed the titanium heart called Total Artificial Heart (TAH). After almost 10 years of research, numerous design iterations, and many animal studies, the BiVACOR artificial heart was finally implanted into a patient with end-stage heart failure.
Heart Failure (HF) is a devastating epidemic affecting more than 23 million patients worldwide. And currently, the best treatment for severe heart failure is a real donor heart, but availability can be a challenge. Each year, less than 6,000 heart transplants are performed worldwide.
This innovative heart provides a temporary solution for patients suffering from severe heart conditions, serving as a bridge until a suitable donor heart can be found for transplantation.
On July 9, surgeons at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the US performed a successful implantation of the BiVACOR heart in a 58-year-old man. The procedure went smoothly, and the patient was able to live with the artificial heart for eight days until a donor heart became available.
“I’m incredibly proud to witness the successful first-in-human implant of our Total Artificial Heart (TAH),” said Daniel Timms, co-founder of BiVACOR.
The TAH is a titanium-built biventricular rotary blood pump that uses magnetic levitation (maglev) technology. This design features a unique pump with only one moving part. The maglev technology suspends the rotor without contact, reducing mechanical wear and allowing for large blood gaps that minimize blood trauma.
This medical technology makes the device durable, reliable, and compatible with the body. It is auto-regulated to provide up to 12 liters of blood flow per minute, similar to the output of a healthy human heart.
In November last year, BiVACOR received FDA approval to implant its TAH in up to five patients with end-stage heart failure in 2024. Following this first successful implantation at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Texas Medical Center, four more patients are to be enrolled in the study.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
