I was fascinated to find this video about two doctors, Billy Cohn and Bud Frazier, "who in March of 2011 successfully replaced a dying man's heart with a 'continuous flow' device they developed, proving that life was possible without a pulse or a heart beat". You can read more about it here, or on its Vimeo home page.
It must be really strange to be walking around with no discernible heartbeat at all! As a heart attack and bypass surgery survivor, I can sympathize with the patient rather more than those who haven't had those experiences. I wonder how long this thing can or will last? Does it need more or less frequent replacement? How does it cope with increased physical exertion - can one dial up the blood flow to provide more oxygen?
Kudos to the two doctors for bringing something new to the health care table. I don't know if this will ever become a viable long-term replacement for a damaged heart, but it's encouraging to see that options like this are under development. Who knows? I may need one myself sometime!
Peter
3 comments:
If the heart replacement is like most such industrial pumps, the flow output is in part determined by the capacity of the system being pressurised. If the muscles and organs expand from use (thereby creating added capacity for blood), the flow rate increases to maintain system pressure - in this case with oxygenated blood.
That guy could really freak out some poor EMS personnel when they are talking to him yet they can't find a heartbeat. Might make some turn to drinking...
So, is there any information on how the pumps are powered and how long will this power source be active. Then do you go back in again and replace the power source or do you recharge it from the outside?
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