Artificial heart brings hope for people with heart problems – First pumping artificial heart made of silicone
There is a lack of sufficient donor organs all over the world, and this applies especially to hearts. It's no wonder that researchers are increasingly working on artificial hearts that come as close as possible to the real thing. New organs are usually grown using stem cells. However, doctoral student Nicholas Cohrs used a 3D printer for the first pumping artificial heart. The developer used it to create an artificial heart that is similar to the human in many ways.
Artificial heart made with 3D printer
Although the artificial heart is very similar to the human heart, it has a third, in addition to the two usual heart chambers, which is responsible for pumping. Air pressure imitates the muscle contractions that ensure that blood can flow in the body. The team of researchers from ETH Zurich has made great progress. However, the artificial heart is far from suitable for implantations.
Artificial heart – very short lifespan
The 390 gram silicone heart only worked for 3000 beats in the test. In minutes this is between 30 and 45. However, this result should not be seen as a disappointment. The printed heart may not be able to save lives yet. But it shows that in addition to using stem cells, there could be another way to make an artificial heart. Cohrs says: “Our goal was not to introduce an implantable heart, but to think in a new direction when developing artificial hearts.”
Heart sufferers must continue to hope
Ultimately, it won't matter to patients who need a new heart, whether it's an organ made from stem cells or an artificial heart made from silicone and from the 3D printer, as long as it does its job. At the moment, medicine only has prosthetic devices that can extend the life of the patient, but are not a permanent solution because they do not work ideally.
For the 26 million patients worldwide who are waiting for a donor heart, but also for medicine in general, progress in this direction would be spectacular. Researchers at the University of Pittsburg have already been able to produce a functioning heart valve and chamber from the 3D printer.
The study by Nicholas Cohrs and his team from ETH Zurich can be found here.
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