10/11/2011 Ashton Pepple Kyler Sanders Artificial Heart 10/11/2011 Ashton Pepple Kyler Sanders

What is an Artificial Heart? Artificial hearts are typically used in order to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in case transplantation is impossible. It is a mechanical device that replaces the heart.

Orgin A synthetic replacement for the heart remains one of the long-sought holy grails of modern medicine. The obvious benefit of a functional artificial heart would be to lower the need for heart transplants, because the demand for organs always greatly exceeds supply.

Robert Koffler Jarvik, M.D. Jarvik was the man credited with creating the first sustainable Artificial heart. His heart was a self-contained, integrated pneumatic unit with surgical tunneling of two 3 cm pneumatic tubes. The Jarvik-7 had several problems but the biggest were that the patient had to be heavily medicated and the unit itself was about the size of a shopping cart.

How does a heart work? The average adult human heart pumps blood at a rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute. In the first stage, the right and left atria contract at the same time, pumping blood to the right and left ventricles. In the second stage, the ventricles contract together to propel blood out of the heart. The heart muscle then relaxes before the next heartbeat. This allows blood to fill up the heart again.

The AbioCor Artificial Heart System Is a very sophisticated medical device, but the core mechanism of the device is the hydraulic pump that shuttles hydraulic fluid from side to side. Developed by Abiomed

components of the system: Porting valve This valve opens and closes to let the hydraulic fluid flow from one side of the artificial heart to the other. When the fluid moves to the right, blood gets pumped to the lungs through an artificial ventricle. When the fluid moves to the left, blood gets pumped to the rest of the body. Hydraulic Pump Force that is applied at one point is transmitted to another point using an incompressible fluid. A gear inside the pump spins at 10,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) to create pressure.

components of the system: Wireless energy-transfer system this system consists of two coils, one internal and one external, that transmit power via magnetic force from an external battery across the skin without piercing the surface. The internal coil receives the power and sends it to the internal battery and controller device. Controller This small electronic device is implanted in the patient's abdominal wall. It monitors and controls the pumping speed of the heart.

components of the system: Internal battery A rechargeable battery is implanted inside the patient's abdomen. This gives a patient 30 to 40 minutes to perform certain activities, such as showering, while disconnected from the main battery pack. External battery This battery is worn on a Velcro-belt pack around the patient's waist. Each rechargeable battery offers about four to five hours of power.

The AbioCor heart The entire system weighs about 2 pounds, which is composed of titanium and plastic. The surgery takes about 7 hours on average to complete. connects to four locations: Right atrium Left atrium Aorta Pulmonary artery

Summary The obvious benefit of a functional artificial heart would be to lower the need for heart transplants, because the demand for organs always greatly exceeds supply. So this means it is very important for someone to keep improving Artificial hearts.

Sources http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=ii http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/artificial-heart1.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart