New technologies. Abiocor – an artificial heart.

AbioCor is an artificial heart developed by the Massachusetts-based company AbioMed.

AbioCor is an artificial heart developed by the Massachusetts-based company AbioMed

 It is fully implantable within a patient, due to a combination of advances in miniaturization, biosensors, plastics and energy transfer. The AbioCor runs on a rechargeable source of power. The internal battery is charged by a transcutaneous energy transmission (TET) system, meaning that no wires or tubes penetrate the skin and therefore there is less risk of infection. Because of its size, this heart is only compatible with men who have a large frame. It has a product life expectancy of 18 months.

While artificial hearts have been implanted in humans before, previous artificial hearts were primitive compared to the AbioCor. The older mechanical hearts required the patient to be attached to a large console (via tubes and electrical power lines extending through the patient’s skin,) and essentially required that the patient be bedridden. The “best case” for using these previous artificial hearts was as a means of keeping patients alive until a heart transplant was available.

With the AbioCor, on the other hand, the ultimate goal is to develop a more-or-less permanent replacement for the heart. The device is completely self-contained within the body, and there are no tubes or lines protruding through the skin. Patients will not be tied to a console, and should be able to carry out routine ambulatory functions. Power is supplied to AbioCor by an external battery pack worn on the belt. A coil attached to the battery pack sends power through the skin to an implanted coil, which then transmits the energy to the AbioCor. (The AbioCor also contains an internal, continually charging short-term battery, that can keep the device pumping for up to 30 minutes without the external battery pack.) Similar to a pacemaker, the AbioCor contains an activity sensor that can tell when the patient is active, and can automatically increase the rate of pumping during exertion.

The AbioCor is a marvel of technology and design compared to older artificial hearts, and the promise it represents is astounding. While many problems (both foreseen and unforeseen) will need to be worked out, for the first time the holy grail for heart disease appears feasible. For the first time a self-contained, implantable, artificial heart will be keeping a person alive and functional – a person who would otherwise be dead.

And while the goal of extending a person’s life for 30 days seems ridiculously inadequate, it is a vitally important step toward a much more desirable goal – to keep people alive indefinitely with an artificial heart. For the first time, that goal seems realistic.