5 speed manual transmission artificial heart

The jarvik 2000 is an Left Ventricular Assist Device that we have discussed in class. However after class, I decided to go look into it a bit more. The jarvik 2000 is a "booster pump", or in other words it is not a beating heart, but is run by a rotary propeller which increases and decreases in speed to simulate pumping. This is really of no surprise. However, what is surprising about the jarvik 2000, is that it has an external control for the patient. The patient controls his own cardiac output by the push of a button. i found this quite interesting. The jarvik 2000's control has five speeds, which can be adjusted, depending on the patients current state. If the patient decides to go for a run, all they need to do, is drop into 5th gear and they are off. Then when they are ready to stop and go take a nap, they just slow them selves down by adjusting their heart to a slower pace. i found this to be very interesting and almost humorous as one can notice from the references to a manual transmission.