First Successful Transplant of Pulseless Artificial Heart
A pulseless artificial heart was successfully implanted into a Houston man, 55, last month. The man suffered from a rare buildup of amyloid proteins which impaired the function of his heart so severely that he was given roughly one more day to live at the time of transplant.
The device was engineering by heart specialists, surgeons, and inventors Dr. Bud Frazier and Dr. Billy Cohn of Texas Heart Institute. It consists of two continuous flow pumps (named Heartmate II) strapped together and powered by an external battery pack. "Continuous flow" means that
the patient's blood flow is nonpulsatile; the beating of the heart is no longer mimicked and the patient has no pulse. Interestingly, the device required nonconventional methods be used to monitor the patient's blood pressure. Because of the nonpulsatile flow, his blood pressure is a constant value and cannot be determined using a cuff, but must be measured using Doppler ultrasound.
Frazier and Cohn began building a prototype of the device more than 5 years ago, using supplies purchased at local stores like Home Depot. They promote continuous flow pumps because of their simplicity and reduced size and noise. Fewer moving parts are used in continuous flow pumps, which makes them potentially much longer-lasting as there is less friction between parts and thus less wear-and-tear between them. Additionally, continuous flow pumps automatically adjust output based on demand.
I looked up this article after hearing about this in a meeting with Texas Heart Institute, and found it fascinating as well as applicable to our semester project: a pediatric artificial heart. I thought it was interesting that it could finally be used as the man's condition had deteriorated so severely; it seems that finding patients on which to test new devices (particularly unorthodox ones) is a constant dilemma. The device is obviously in its younger stages and needs continued testing and development, but it would be interesting to see how this man fares.
http://www.texasmedicalcenter.org/root/en/TMCServices/News/2011/04-01/Houston+Man+First+in+World+to+be+Successfully+Implanted+with+Pulseless+Artificial+Heart.htm
April 21, 2011
The device was engineering by heart specialists, surgeons, and inventors Dr. Bud Frazier and Dr. Billy Cohn of Texas Heart Institute. It consists of two continuous flow pumps (named Heartmate II) strapped together and powered by an external battery pack. "Continuous flow" means that
the patient's blood flow is nonpulsatile; the beating of the heart is no longer mimicked and the patient has no pulse. Interestingly, the device required nonconventional methods be used to monitor the patient's blood pressure. Because of the nonpulsatile flow, his blood pressure is a constant value and cannot be determined using a cuff, but must be measured using Doppler ultrasound.
Frazier and Cohn began building a prototype of the device more than 5 years ago, using supplies purchased at local stores like Home Depot. They promote continuous flow pumps because of their simplicity and reduced size and noise. Fewer moving parts are used in continuous flow pumps, which makes them potentially much longer-lasting as there is less friction between parts and thus less wear-and-tear between them. Additionally, continuous flow pumps automatically adjust output based on demand.
I looked up this article after hearing about this in a meeting with Texas Heart Institute, and found it fascinating as well as applicable to our semester project: a pediatric artificial heart. I thought it was interesting that it could finally be used as the man's condition had deteriorated so severely; it seems that finding patients on which to test new devices (particularly unorthodox ones) is a constant dilemma. The device is obviously in its younger stages and needs continued testing and development, but it would be interesting to see how this man fares.
http://www.texasmedicalcenter.org/root/en/TMCServices/News/2011/04-01/Houston+Man+First+in+World+to+be+Successfully+Implanted+with+Pulseless+Artificial+Heart.htm
April 21, 2011
Labels: artifical organ, cardiovascular disease, heart
posted by Nicole Cordner at 9:01 PM
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