General

[Spider!]

Originally Posted by ta2maki

This is very interesting. I can't help to think that the stop-start motion of blood through the blood vessels has some type of function. Like the pulsing prevents plaque from forming over time. Neat to see how this guy does over the long term.

They started this sort of thing years ago. One thing that came up is what it's like in your head (psychologically) without a heart beat. one big problem with artificial hearts, beyond body acceptance, is the damage they do to platelets. Continuous pumps have to slip, which means some platelets get sheared more than others. The human heart is basically "positive displacement" and also very soft on platelets. Even teflon valves smack platelets around at the seal.

I actually had a class on rheology (mostly blood and ink). For something not generally useful, it sure has a lot of implications, especially with ketchup.

[Clearush]

Texas Medical Center - Houston Man First in World to be Successfully Implanted with Pulseless, Artificial Heart

He only lived 5 weeks afterwards, but compared to the 12 hours he had to live before the surgery it seems pretty successfull.

[Deus Machina]

Dr Cohn said it contains ‘a moderate amount’ of homemade materials.

This worries me. Makes it sound like a Mexican surgery.

[heinous]

Originally Posted by Deus Machina

This worries me. Makes it sound like a Mexican surgery.

[Boone]

Originally Posted by bloodwashed

they did that to Dick Cheney last year too- Former vice president Dick Cheney now has no pulse; Heart pump like artificial heart - New York Daily News- it's pretty cool.

Cheney has an LVAD which is relatively common, but he still has a heart.

Every time an artificial device like this is made, discoveries are made and we get a little closer to prolonging life with artificial organs. Very cool stuff!

And this is more similar to an LVAD than a pacemaker..pacers regulate electrical activity rather than the mechanical activity.

[heinous]

is he gonna stay that pale forever?

[K_Obeastly]

Originally Posted by Clearush

He only lived 5 weeks afterwards

is he gonna stay that pale forever?

if he is dead, it would seem likely

[Siress]

This is by no means new technology. What is new, and not mentioned, is that people with these mechanical heart replacements can now be MOBILE. Previously, they were tethered to heavy equipment required to power the devices, earlier versions even required the blood to be pumped out of the body and through the machine like during a transfusion.

I've actually spent some time working with the future generation of this device: HeartWare – Miniaturized left ventricular assist devices – Products and Technology : HeartWare® Ventricular Assist System

That link has some insight into how these centrifugal pumps work, as well, in case you were curious. The fact that it does so without much damage to the blood cells is really an engineering achievement.

[eppleman]

No heart no pulsation

[Agglet]

Originally Posted by ta2maki

Let's go the other way. Now you can overclock your heart and go win the tour de france.

Another thought, now that you can't get a heart attack, can you do all the cocaine you want.
http://images.cheezburger.com/comple...438559e070.jpg