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An artificial heart is a prosthetic device that is implanted into the body to replace the biological heart. It is distinct from a cardiopulmonary bypass machine (CPB), which is an external device used to provide the functions of both the heart and the lungs. The CPB oxygenates the blood, and therefore does not need to be connected to both blood circuits.

Types:
1)Total Artificial Heart (TAH) implantation involves the removal of the native heart. It is a surgical procedure similar to heart transplantation with a human donor heart.

2)Cardiac (heart) assist devices differ from the TAH, in that the patient’s heart is not removed during implantation. Assist devices may include either a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) or a Right Ventricular Assist Device (RVAD) or both. As opposed to TAH implantation, the assist device serves to provide only a part of the total cardiac output of the patient’s heart.

This artificial heart you see here grosses me out, but count me in if it will be able to save lives. Originally invented by a human who is now too feeble to even row a boat, the artificial heart can pride itself in being the first practical robot organ to be incorporated into a living Russian dog.

Unfortunately for us humans, our body will most likely reject plastic organs since we aren’t Barbies to begin with. Thankfully the advances of science has since been able to make us survive much longer than we ought to, and I would love to see more technologically advanced medical discoveries in the near future, with the artificial heart paving the way.

Tags: Artificial Heart, cardiopulmonary bypass