Houston: A man in America has become the first person to successfully implant a metal heart in case of heart failure.
Medical technology company BiVACOR created a heart made of titanium that follows the same scientific principle as electro-accelerated magnetic levitation (maglev) trains.
On July 9, surgeons at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, USA, implanted a BiVACOR heart in a 58-year-old man without any complications.
The patient survived on the artificial heart for eight days after which he was transplanted with a donated heart.
Daniel Timms, co-founder of BiVACOR, said he was extremely proud to see the company’s first human implant of a fully artificial heart.
Heart failure is a growing global problem affecting an estimated 26 million people worldwide. In this condition, the heart muscle does not pump blood as well as a healthy heart does.
Doctors say an artificial metal heart could improve the chances of saving lives for people with severe heart failure.