An Australian man with severe heart failure has become the first person in the world to walk out of a hospital with a total artificial heart implant, The Guardian reports.
The breakthrough procedure, performed at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, involved the BiVACOR total artificial heart, a revolutionary device invented by Queensland-born Dr. Daniel Timms. Using magnetic levitation technology, the implant replicates the natural blood flow of a healthy heart, serving as a bridge until a donor heart becomes available.
The patient, a man in his 40s from New South Wales, received the device on November 22 in a six-hour surgery led by cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon Paul Jansz. He lived with the artificial heart for over 100 days before successfully undergoing a donor heart transplant in early March.
While the BiVACOR device is currently used to sustain patients awaiting transplants, researchers hope it could eventually serve as a permanent solution for those ineligible for heart transplants.
